Life in the Hills 3
by xsostarstruck
Summary: Eve Torres is in for the ride of her life when her family moves to Beverly Hills where the young girl encounters new faces, develops friendships, falls in love and that is only the tip of the iceberg - Multi-couples - Eve, Kelly, Maryse, Cody, Ted, Evan, Nikki, Tiffany, Dolph, Jack, Torrie, John, Stacy, Randy & more.
1. Welcome to Beverly Hills

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter One_ - Welcome to Beverly Hills

The California sun was shining down through the window of her parent's car - Hitting her eyes, she quickly squirmed away. The tall palm trees didn't provide much shade – even though there was like twenty of them in one whole block and all she heard was California has so many palm trees. She rolled down the window as the breeze rolled in sending her brown locks into the air. The glimpses of multimillion dollar homes were what her eyes laid upon along with their matching sports car parked in the driveways. Welcome to Beverly Hills – because that's all you'll be seeing.

She was moving here – straight out of the Rocky Mountains to the beautiful Beverly Hills along with her parents. Her Father had received a promotion in his Public Relations Company and it had required that he pack his things and family and head to the city of Angels – Los Angeles. Of course, it had its pros and cons – They had to leave a lot behind in their old town but had something even bigger waiting for them in Beverly Hills. Lucky for the Torres Family, they had a beautiful Estate waiting for them in the Hills.

Eve was in for the biggest change in her young life. The Sixteen year old had no idea what she was going to expect. Immediately when she heard that she was moving here – she expected the absolute worse. Seeing nothing but rich snobby people with their fancy cars and mansions – that's all she could have really pictured. Now that she was talked into Moving into this place, she had a scary feeling thinking that she along with her family would be turned into those kind of people, the one thing she didn't want to happen. She just hoped that her Family could still be who they are and not change because of the new environment they'd be living in. If they did change, she'd take the first plane ticket straight back to Denver, Colorado.

Her Father was excited about the whole thing. John Torres was going to be starting a new life here along with his daughter and loving wife, Dana Torres. As excited John was, it didn't rub Dana off the right way. Similar to her daughter, she wasn't exactly thrilled about going to a completely new city and starting fresh. It was all about getting use to it and adjustment which shouldn't take them too long she hoped. Dana had a close resemblance to her daughter. Same eyes, lips and hair – the two looked like Twins but they weren't.

Eve probably had the biggest adjustment. Her Dad had to adjust to his new job while her mother was just your typical housewife and Eve had a new school she had to adjust too. Nervous and Scared were what you could use to describe Eve's thoughts about entering a new school. She had every right to be scared. Who knew what would wait for her behind those doors. Were the girls going to be catty and bitchy? Were all the guys there just jerks and players? Would there be someone that Eve would get along with? She'll find out tomorrow – bright and early.

"Seriously, are we there yet?" Grumbled the teen, "We've been in this car for hours, it's really hot since our stupid air conditioner is busted and I really have to go to the bathroom or I'm going to contract a horrible bladder infection."

"Honey, let's keep calm," Her mother requested, "We're almost there – just a few more blocks and we'll be at our new home and there will be plenty of bathrooms for you to go too."

"I never even seen this place – you guys don't even have the decency to show me a photograph of the place," Rendered Eve, "I mean – is it so crappy that you couldn't even show me a photograph of the place I'll be living in for God knows how long?"

"Well, I wanted to keep it a surprise for you," Mr. Torres uttered from his lips, "But it's a nice place and when you see it, you're going to love it. I can already see your facial expression when you see our new home."

"There won't be any time for that since I'm going to grab the keys and locate the nearest bathroom to relieve my stress coming from my bladder."

"I'm sure once you see it – you're not going to move at all. You're just going to stand still and stare right at it."

"Well, if that happens than we must be living in Buckingham Palace or maybe the Taj Mahal," Joked thee Denver Native, "But I'm sure it nice. Does it have a pool in the back atleast?"

"It's like a law in Los Angeles to have a pool in your yard."

"Look, we're here."

The car slowly made it into the large driveway made from a dark toned bricks and the address of 385 Lexington Road. Eve's eyes were glued on the window. Speechless was her reaction. Her new home looked like it came straight from a movie or something. She quickly pinched herself thinking that maybe this was a dream. Her new home was just beautiful. Italian Villa styled home with tan colored brinks – a balcony laid above the home on the second floor. Outside the front home, it was decorated so neatly and beautifully. The Family stepped out of the car together and looked up at their home.

"Are we seriously living here or are you going to tell us to get back in the car and go to our real house?" Eve eyed her father, "Because I kind of like it here. This place isn't too shabby and suits my taste."

"All I have to say is Welcome Home."

**X__x__x__x__X**

There she was – just getting out of her car and staring up at the huge lettering on the front of the building reading 'West Beverly Hills High School' along with the swarm of students surrounding it. Walking up, she had on her pair of booty shorts, a peach and blue colored plaid shirt and her white flip flops. Did see make the correct fashion decision? Based on everyone else, she seemed pretty safe in the fashion sense.

She clicked the car to locked it before tossing her keys in her Brown and pink Tote bag. Taking one hard swallow, she walked down the pathway leading to the front doors. Awkward stares came upon her from the students. Most of them knew she was the new girl in town, based on her shyness level. Some of the stares were sweet – some were mean – and a few were just really creepy. Her nerves were getting the best of her as she was shaking a little bit. Most of those trembles were gone when she got inside the building.

She slowly walked through the hallway and glanced around the lockers. She was looking for room 125 – where her History class was with Mr. Styles. Turning the corner, she found her way into the classroom as just the bell rang – with half the class staring right at her like she was some freak of nature or something. A man in jeans and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and brown hair looked to be Mr. Styles, "Why you must be our new girl Eve Torres right?"

"Yeah, that's me," She sweetly answered.

Mr. Styles took Eve to the Front of the Classroom and presented her, "Class – I'd like you guys to meet our newest student in our History Class – Eve Torres."

The class didn't seem that thrilled at all, "Hi," A Nervous Eve waved to the class – still showing no emotion.

"Tell us a little bit about yourself."

"I'm sixteen and I just moved here from Denver –"

"Loser," A boy with a Mohawk in the front answered with a cough.

Mr. Styles stepped forward, "Michael or the Miz, since you like that name for some reason, I think we better spend the afternoon together. I'll teach you a few set of manners I suppose."

"I call 'em like I see em."

"You're such as idiot Mike," A girl with Platinum blonde locks answered, "And then you wonder why girls don't like you – because you're the biggest self centered Bastard on the planet."

Mike turned his body to face the girl that was calling them out, "I rather be a self centered bastard then a snobby little rich girl like you Maryse."

"Enough Guys," Mr. Styles answered, "Maryse, since you're so kind why don't you show Eve around the school when you get a chance today. Get her to know where she'll be spending her academic year. Go take a seat next to Maryse, Eve."

Eve walked over to the platinum blonde and took a seat right next to her. Maryse wasn't pleased at all with what her job was to do today. Not one bit. Eve noticed how Maryse was decked out in designer dark skinny jeans, white tank top, a blue Metallic and Silver Platform pumps. Based on what the Miz said, Maryse wasn't a sweetheart.

It was going to be a very interesting day of school – that's for sure.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Class ended and Eve followed Maryse out of the room. She manage to catch up to her, "Maryse – wait up."

Maryse paused and turned around to face Eve, "Oh – I forgot that I have to show you around here," Groaned Maryse, "Okay – let me show you what West Beverly has to offer."

"I was actually going to say that you don't need to show me around. I'll find my way around here I suppose," Eve spoke, "But thanks for defending me back there against that guy. I would never think that someone who barely knows me would do that."

Maryse began to walk and talk with the new girl, "Trust me – when it comes to guys here, you have got to be careful. That loser – The Miz," Maryse did a little theatrical move when she mentioned Mike Mizzazin, "Just steer clear from him – he's nothing but trouble. Trust me, I know."

"Yeah I'm probably going to avoid him as much as I can."

Maryse and Eve made their way to Maryse's friends, Rosa Mendes and Alicia Fox, "Hey Ladies," Maryse greeted them but the two just stared at Eve, giving her a dirty sort of look.

"Who's your friend over here?" Rosa Mendes asked and Eve returned with a confused looked staring at her apparel of a White Sundress with Golden pumps as her blonde and brown hair flowed down in curls.

"And what is she wearing?" Alicia Fox eyed the girl dressed in a Black polka dot cami, dark jeans and short black boots, "The fashion sense is something I'm not to key on."

"Girls, be nice," Maryse defended, "This is the new student her – Alicia and Rosa this is Eve. She came here from Dover."

"It's Denver," She corrected, "And it's nice to meet you."

"Yeah whatever," Alicia quickly answered back, "Shouldn't you be going Missy? I don't mean to be rude but I don't think exactly click with us."

"Go with the losers," The arrogant Rosa told Eve, "Go back where you came from missy."

Maryse and the Girls just laughed as they walked away – leaving Eve all by herself. First impressions of this school – BAD!

**X__x__x__x__X**

Waiting inside her office for her student to arrive, Torrie Wilson – the school's guidance counselor was awaiting for Eve to talk to her about her first day here. Accompanied by Dawn Marie, the principal's secretary – the girls were having a little chat, "Here's another school year and more problems I have to listen to by my corrupted Student body. Wonderful isn't it?"

Dawn Marie sipped on her coffee, "I have a ton of paperwork to file but I'm in no mood to get started on that. It's only a few days into the new school year and I already feel as if everything is difficult."

"We'll get use to it," Torrie smiled as she looked down at a photo frame of her three year old son Nathan and her one year old daughter Ella, "And I won't have to watch the kids since Kelly is going to watch them – it will finally give me a chance to just get out."

"Working and raising two kids – how do you do it?" Dawn Marie asked, "See this is why I'm single. I just got out – find a guy and have a little fun. That's all."

"Not to mention you go for guys in their early twenties," Torrie conveyed with a slick smile, "You're a cougar Dawn."

"Okay so what if I am? It's extremely popular to be a cougar and its fun. Cougars are the way to go – they're cute, have nice bodies and will spend every dime on you in you give them what you want."

"Dawn, you need more help than the kids in this school."

"You're right," She ascended to the door, "I'll see you later Ms. Guidance Counselor," And Dawn Marie was gone.

The moment Dawn had left, in came the new student Eve, "Is this the Guidance Counselor's office?"

Yes it is and you must be Eve," Torrie presented the seat before her, "Don't be shy – take a seat," Eve took the seat in front of Torrie, "So I understand that your our new student here at West Beverly?"

"Yeah – today's my first day."

"I know exactly how it feels," The Latina looked over at Torrie with a confused look, "I was once just like you. Me and my cousin moved here from Boise and we were like total strangers to the universe. We were the fresh meat so I know exactly how you're feeling. You're nervous."

"Yes, I am."

"You're scared."

"That too."

"You wonder if the girls are going to be catty and if the boys will be total jerks to you."

"Are you a mind reader and guidance counselor all put in one?"

Torrie snickered – this girl seemed sweet and promising. She knew that she'd be fine, "Trust me – I was in your same exact shoes about thirteen years ago," The blonde paused, "Oh god, thirteen years ago? How time flies by – enough about how I feel like I'm getting old but I bringing in someone that would really help show you around and all."

In came a blonde woman that looked a little bit like Torrie. The girl had on a black tank top, a red and black plaid skirt and black flats on, "Okay Torrie – you call me in here and this better be good."

"Kelly, Didn't I say you call me Ms. Wilson while we were in school?"

"I'm so sorry Ms. Wilson," She bitterly responded, "What would you like from me, big sis?"

"Well, Eve here is our newest student so I was hoping you could show her around a little – get her to know her new school. Could you do me that favor?" Torrie asked her younger sister.

"Sure," Kelly answered not really seeming to care at all, "Come on – you got lunch?"

"Yeah – I have lunch right now."

"Well it's time that I show you the central core of this school."

**X__x__x__x__X**

Kelly and Eve took a seat at one of the unoccupied tables in the jungle called the cafeteria. Placing their trays down, Eve opened up her container and mixed up the salad she had picked up. Kelly on the other hand kept it raunchy with a tray of fries, "Okay, so I guess I should show you around and I should start by this very place. At lunch time, it's extremely important that you know where to sit. Sit with the wrong crowd, you'll be humiliated. I've seen it happen to plenty of kids and I don't want to see it happen to you."

"What crowd are you part of?" Eve inquired as she took a bit of her salad.

"Oh mine is called the normal crowd," Kelly smirked, "And there's one member which is me and this other dude but he isn't here right now."

"Are there bad ones?"

"Of course – look, I'll point everyone out to you," Kelly glanced around the room, ready to map everything out for Eve, "We got your jocks – completely cocky and annoying, then over there we got your depressed loners and right over there, where that blonde girl is sitting – those are the worst people you'll ever meet in your life so steer clear away from those group of girls."

Eve took a closer looked and noticed Maryse was sitting at the table Kelly was talking about, "Oh there's Maryse. I don't think she's really mean – she actually stood up for me in my history class but then again she blew me off later. "

"She's a bitch Eve. I know so just stay away from Captain Bitch and her two minions."

Suddenly a guy in a polo shirt came rolling by and snatched a fry out of Kelly's tray, "Gotcha!"

"Oh god Evan," Kelly let out a giggly groan, "You always come here to take my fries – I really think you should just take out your wallet and buy your own. It isn't hard – you just asked for it on the line and give them the two dollars."

"Who's your new friend?" Evan smiled over at Eve, "She's pretty than your usual friends."

"Yeah – She is better looking than you," Joked the sixteen year old, "Evan, I'd like you to meet West Bev's newest student – Eve Torres."

"Nice to meet you Madam Eve," Evan took her hand and kissed it gently, "It is my privilege to meet you. Welcome to West Beverly High – the place where you'll most likely commit suicide."

"That's pleasant to hear?" Eve giggled, "Am I really going to do that?"

"No, I'm just joking. I'm a joker," Evan laughed, "And I'm no longer known as the new kid. I've had that title for the past year and I finally get to pass it down to someone new. Make me proud Eve – you represent all those new kids out there."

"You were the new kid before me?" Questioned the new girl at school, "How was it like for you – you know trying to get use to everything and adjust to a new life here?"

"Well, I only moved from Malibu so it wasn't exactly a big move," Evan collected his thoughts from his experience, "But it's not bad – you know it's just take some time for you to adjust to everything. You know, you'll be fine since you're a girl and seem really sweet but I do give you my blessing."

"Thanks," Eve shyly said as she was about to get up, "I have to head back to my car to grab something so I'll be back. You're not going to go anywhere right?"

"We'll be right here – since after all you're the third member of the normal crowd," Kelly joked.

Eve smiled before she walked out into the Hallway. So far, her day wasn't bad at all. She had meet some really nice people – nobody mean except for Alicia and Rosa who weren't very nice to her. As she got lost in her thoughts, she wasn't paying attention to anyone else when she accidently bumped into a guy, spilling his tray all over his shirt. Eve covered her mouth as she gasped, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"Yeah you weren't," The angry man scolded Eve, who was revealed to be the same guy who called her a loser in class – The Miz, "Do you know how much my shirt costs? Now, I'm going to need to go and drive clean this."

"Again, I'm really sorry."

"No you're not," Miz stepped forward to Eve, putting her up against the wall, "Now, I'm going to ruin you."

"Hey!"

A tall tan man stepped forward, coming up against the man. He was decked out in West Beverly gym shirt and pants along with white sneakers. He had black hair and confronted the Miz, "Listen Miz – Leave the girl alone. What are you going to prove to the girl by standing up to a girl huh? Going to prove you are more of a pussy than you already are?"

"Listen Rhodes – watch what you say around me because I'm capable of plenty of things dude," Miz knocked Cody away before charging away from the two of them.

"Sorry about that – that guy is an ass so I'd avoid him if I were you," He warned Eve, "I'm Cody by the way. I've never seen you around here before. Are you new or something?"

"Actually I am new. I just moved here from Denver and today's my first day."

"Denver? My favorite football team is there," Cody smirked, hinting the fact that he was a Denver Broncos Fan, "So what brings you here to Beverly Hills?"

"Well, My dad got this new job here so we all had to pack our things and move over here," Eve told Cody, "And it isn't bad so far – I've met some really nice people so far and a few not so good people," She was talking about the encounter with the Miz, "But other than that, it's fine."

"Trust me – there's a lot more guys out there like that idiot," Warned Cody as he came closer to Eve, "But I'll be there if you need me."

"Be there for me?"

"Yeah – I'll be your superman or batman. Just put on the bat signal and I'll be there."

"Thanks for your help though with the Miz. I didn't think anyone was around."

"Like I said it wasn't an issue," Cody smiled as he began to walk away and Eve walk by his side, "Let me show you around this school. Come on," Eve smiled at Cody's invitation. She found some friends here at West Beverly and maybe a new crush? We'll have too see.

**X__x__x__x__X**

After school – Maryse, Alicia and Rosa were over at their hangout spot for West Beverly students – the classic Peach pit. After some renovation, the place looks a lot more modern and attracts more of a younger crowd to the place. With their ice coffees on the table, Alicia and Rosa were gossiping about the new girl – which happened to be Eve.

"I seriously can't get over what she was wearing," Alicia said as she was texting on her phone, "It was like she came straight out of a farm or something. She's in Beverly Hills and that won't fly in here."

"And that hair – All those curls were just everywhere," The young Rosa said, "She needs a total makeover."

"Maybe we could give her a second chance. I could see her rolling with us," Maryse noticed the brunette walking into the Peach pit. She waved her hand and called for her, "Hey Eve – over here?"

Eve walked over feeling nervous again because last time they were speaking, Maryse blew her off, "Hi Maryse."

"Listen – me and the girls were talking and we decided to give you another chance because we were a little mean before," Maryse was a little mean to the new girl but had hopes of making it up to her, "So we thought that maybe you should come shopping with us as a little apology for the way we acted, right girls?"

"Right!"

"I'm actually waiting for –"

"Come on – we've got no time to waste," Maryse pulled her hand and began to escort her out of the Peach pit, with Alicia and Rosa not too far behind, "We've got to do something about what your wearing – we'll get something nice.

Just as the four of them left, Kelly came walking into the peach pit. Stumped – she didn't see Eve who was suppose to get a table for the two of them. Her eyes went to the Window to see Eve getting into a car with Maryse, Alicia and Rosa – driving off somewhere. Cringing at the site, Kelly stormed out of the Peach pit.

Meanwhile back in the car, Maryse was driving while Eve was in the passenger seat as Alicia and Rosa gloated in the back seat, "So Eve – how do you like West Beverly so far?"

"I like it so far – The guy the Miz came back up to me when I was in the hallway before but I got help from someone," Eve smiled when she thought about Cody again, "He helped me out and got rid of that jerk."

"Who was the guy?" Alicia peeped through the driver and Passenger's seat, "Was he cute?"

"He was cute. His name was –"

"Shit!" Maryse roared as she almost hit a cat trying to cross the street, "I swear – I hate having to see Animals roaming the streets and almost hitting them."

"That would happen a lot to me in Denver," Agreed the Latina, "It's like they just completely roam the streets and I think I'd hit a few my accident when I saw them."

"Finally – someone agrees with me," Maryse exclaimed as they were driving down Rodeo Drive, "Eve – welcome to a girl's paradise. Every store you can imagine is located on this block. You'll find anything you want here but it will most likely cost you a lot."

Eve looked at the window. It was store after store – designer after designer. The biggest celebrities shop here – picking up some clothes before a big award show or heading out to a big party. She couldn't find the words to describe how she was feeling that very moment. She was content, joyful and seemly upbeat. Her First day of school seemed to be ending in a more upbeat fashion.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Torrie packed her car in her home's driveway. She was completely exhausted that was for sure. She swung her purse over her shoulder and clicked her car shut. Walking up to the door, she could already hear her son's giggles and her daughter's cry. It was just time to open the door – and to deal with all that commotion. Upon opening the door, she began to call out for Kelly, "Kelly, I'm home – where is everyone?"

Torrie walked into the living room to find Nathan sleeping on the couch, and Kelly holding Ella in her arms, "There you guys are."

"Shh!" Kelly alerted her sister, "I just got Nathan to get to sleep and now I'm keeping Ella company and hoping she falls asleep soon."

"I'm sorry I was late – I had so much work to do and I promise you won't have to stay any longer. I wish I could have some permanent help," Torrie took a seat on the chair as Kelly handed her Ella, "I swear – I think I should hire a Nanny or something. I don't want to constantly do this to you and I can't always count of mom, dad or Stacy. Mom and Dad like to travel now that Dad's retired and Stacy had Connor and Emily and I can't always leave them with her."

"You'll think of something," Kelly told her, "For now – I don't mind doing it for you."

"You're the best little sister and your slowly becoming their favorite aunt."

"I think I'm there only one," Kelly giggled, "As much as they sometimes annoy me, I still love them very much and would do anything for them. I'm their number one aunt."

"I just wish he was still with us," Torrie glanced at a picture of John on their wedding day, "I swear – I miss him so much Kelly. I want him to come back."

"I know Sis," Kelly told Eve, "We all miss him."

"I know he's still out there," Torrie said, "The marines say that he's missing in action but most likely is dead because they found his dog tags. I find that hard to believe because I know he's out there. He is and I refuse to give up on hope that one day he's going to walk through that door and be with his family."

About a year ago, shortly after Ella's birth John was sent away on Military leave. A few weeks into his leave, he was reported missing in action and wasn't found. His commander came to her home to give her his dog tags as they feared the worse believing he was killed in action and might not ever be found.

Torrie refused to believe it even though it's been about a year since the whole thing happened. Somewhere in her heart, she believed that he was alive and well. John's a fighter and wouldn't give up easily.

"Torrie, I know how you feel about it but they found his dog tags and nothing else. I wish he was here too but he's not," Kelly told her older sister, "And maybe it's time you move on and just let him go and start fresh. I hate seeing you like this."

"I hate seeing myself like this too."

"Then go out – have some fun and enjoy life. Don't always think about what may happen or anything like that. If I have to babysit more for you to have some fun – I will do it. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy."

"Thanks sis," Torrie smiled, "And I will. I can give it a shot maybe. I haven't dated anyone in years."

"Well, this is your shot – get back out there Wilson," Kelly cheered on her sister as he phone began to ring, "I got to get that – I'll be right back."

She snatched her phone and walked into the kitchen. Reading the Caller ID, a smirk appeared on her lips as she answered the phone, "I thought you'd never call me back. I've been waiting for you – is she gone?"

"Yeah she's gone so this week, I can spend it all with you."

"Thank god she's out of the picture," Kelly peaked back into the living room to see Torrie rocking Ella around, "Listen, I'll probably be there in a few minutes. I'm just going to tell Torrie I'm leaving."

"I'll see you in a bit."

Kelly shut her phone and walked back into the living room, "That was Mom – she wants me to head home. I'll see you tomorrow Sis."

But where was Kelly really off too?"

**X__x__x__x__X**

The next day at School, Eve had arrived in her car. Heading out of the car, she came across a man smoking a cigarette. She looked at him as he shot a glare right back at her, "What the hell are you looking at new girl?"

"I have a name," Eve responded back, "Its Eve – not new girl."

"Tell it to someone who cares," The man in the leather jacket, white t-shirt, jeans and a pair of black sneakers said in response, "I don't even know why you're talking to me," He answered taking a pull from his cigarette.

"Smoking is bad for you and I don't think you can do it on school grounds – won't you get in trouble?"

"Why are you going all mother Theresa on me? I didn't even say a word to you and you're trying to turn my life around. I don't need your nourishment. Give it to someone who really needs it."

"Okay," This was definitely awkward, "I'm just going to walk away and leave you alone."

"Please do so and don't get involved in other people's issues."

"What a jerk."

Eve walked away living the arrogant Jerk known as Ted DiBaise to finish smoking his cigarette. Ted was a bit of your badass you can say. He doesn't take crap and will not be pushed around and be told what to do. He does what he wants when he wants not caring about who he hurts or what he does to get his way. A man in a red car pulled up in front of Ted. He rolled down his window and the man with a thick beard and piercings appeared.

"Ted – I've got my shipment for you."

"Hand it over Phil."

Phil tossed the bag – full of prescription drugs which were all pretty illegal, "Okay – now you better do a good job selling this or else. Last drop off, you didn't make anything and you expect me to continue working with you. I may have to take my business elsewhere."

"Nah man – I really need the money," Ted answered back, "I won't disappoint you Phil. I'll come back with a deck of cash by next week."

"If you screw up, I'm going to have to cut off our ties man and I don't want to do that," Phil rolled up his window and drove off, leaving Ted there. Ted had to do well with this next shipment or he'd get that ax.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Kelly was sitting out under a tree trying to catch up on some of her homework. As she wrote in her notebook, a shadow came across the notebook. She looked up and it was Eve smiling right by her, "Kelly, I've been trying to call you but you haven't answered me or anything. Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong – I don't go and ditch your real friend to go hang out with some skank," Kelly spoke about the events that occurred yesterday, "I was being so nice to you and you decide to go and leave me to hang out with Maryse and her idiot friends."

Eve will admit what she did was wrong but Maryse dragged her out and took her and she couldn't stop her, "Listen, I'm really sorry if I did hurt you by leaving. Maryse dragged me out and she wasn't taking no as an answer. I tried calling you to tell you to come but then I remembered that you didn't like her. I feel so bad."

"Well, you should have thought of it before you did it."

"I know I should have and if I could, I'd change it," Eve tried to get through to Kelly, "And I want to be friends with you. You were the nicest girl I've meet her so far and I really want to be friends."

"You want to be friends with me?"

"Yeah – you're down to earth and overall just really cool," Eve smiled, "Probably the best person I've meet here."

Kelly felt absolutely on top of the world. She never really had close friends before and she actually found someone who was nice to her and actually wanted to be friends, "No one has ever said that about me."

"So do you forgive me?"

"Well, I guess I can look past it," The blonde croaked out a giggle, "But yes – I forgive you."

"Good because I need to tell you something," Eve smiled, "Something really important."

Kelly noticed based on the smile on Eve's face that this was good, "This must be good because based on your smile – I have a feeling it is really good. Maybe even about a boy perhaps?"

"Yeah it actually is," Eve giggled like a little girl, "So after I left lunch yesterday, I bumped into this guy and he gave me a hard time but then this other guy came up and stood up for me. He was so sweet and he even showed me around the whole school. He was such a nice guy and also really cute."

"You've been here two days and you already got a crush on a guy. You work fast girl."

"I don't know if it's a crush but it's something. He's really nice and I like him in a sense based on what I know about him," Eve had herself a little crush in the little time she had been here, "I hope I see him around school again."

"What was his name? Maybe I know who he is."

Eve looked out into the distance and show him chatting it up with some of his friends, "He's over there talking to his friends," She then noticed that Maryse was coming up behind him, "And there's Maryse too."

Kelly knew exactly what was going to happen, "Eve, I'm sorry to break it to you but you're not going to like what you see right now."

Eve took a closer look and saw Maryse laid a kiss on Cody's lips. Eve's jaw just dropped down to the floor. Cody and Maryse were dating? This just couldn't be right. Maybe she was still in her bed sleeping? Nope, this was real this was very real. This was what her eyes were looking at and she wasn't too happy.

"They're dating?"

"Unfortunately."

"Wow – I can't believe it," Eve said while still looking at the couple, "And yesterday I told her that I met a guy who was cute and I almost told her that it was him. Imagine if I did tell her?"

"Oh sweetie – that would not have been pretty," Kelly uttered, "Oh and this is only the beginning sweetie. Welcome to Beverly Hills – Your going to wish you never came."

* * *

**A/N:** Here it is. The Sequel! Please be kind and Review - Every Review is always apperciated!


	2. You're a Liar, You're my Lover

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Two_ - You're a Liar, You're my Lover

The thought of Cody having a girlfriend was still in the back of Eve's mind even a few days after she had discovered the duo. The latina was trying her best to keep a straight face through this whole thing and not come across as being angry or jealous. She did it to the point where she avoided them. So far, she was doing a good job.

There was just one thing that was bothering Eve about this. On her first day, Cody told Eve he didn't have a girlfriend but look now – he has one all of a sudden. He lied to me. He lied about his girlfriend so this leads to the question of what else could he have lied about? He told Eve he's lived her all is life. That could be a lie and so many other things could have been a lie. She didn't even want to think about it.

"_So far your blending right into this school," Cody scanned the clothing on the new student, "I think you're going to fit right into this. I don't see any problems for you."_

"_How do you know?" Eve raised her eyebrow as the two walked down the empty hallways during lunch time, "What happens if I get into the wrong crowd and get tortured here? I wouldn't exactly want that to happen."_

"_Well it's not – I can see your going to be fine because a pretty girl like you could just fit right in."_

"_Aw," Her cheeks turned a sudden faint red, "Enough about me – what about you? What's Cody all about?"_

"_I've been here all my life. Born and raised in California though my parents are both from the south but they moved here after some family issues," Cody opened up, "And here I am – part of the football team."_

"_Football team? What position?"_

"_Linebacker but I'm aiming for quarterback this year," Cody had large hopes and dreams as he was on the varsity football team, "I'll have to see but I'm going to fight for it. I just want it so bad."_

"_If you want it so bad – then you'll get it. I just know it," Eve smiled. The duo entered the schoolyard with the huge football field, "Speaking of football, we're actually here. This is West Beverly's home field?"_

"_Yep – all our homes games are here," Cody said, "You should come to one of the games when you get a chance. You could maybe provide us with some luck if you decide to come."_

"_I'd love to come to a game. I always went to my old high school's games and even a Denver broncos game here and there," Eve's eyes squinted as the sun rays struck her eyes, "I could maybe be your own cheerleader unless you have one. Do you have a girlfriend?"_

"_Uhh," He uttered. What was Cody to say? Just say anything right? "Nope, I don't got a girlfriend," He just lied to her about something so silly. Why? Who knows why._

"_Oh really," Eve smiled, hoping that maybe she stood a chance with Cody, "I would expect a guy like you to have one."_

It just gave her an outlook on all guys. That there all liars and not one of them is good – unless if their your father than its okay but all others are liars. You can't trust them and can't – well, you can't trust them.

She roamed through the halls before she had to head to her class that morning and who does she see before her? The same guy who lied along with his girlfriend, giggling and talking to one another. Eve didn't exactly want to deal with them but she had to and might as well get over it.

Maryse leaned in and gave her boyfriend a kiss on his lips before she turned over to find Eve walking by them, "Oh Eve – over here!," Maryse caught Eve's attention and brought her up to herself and Cody, "Eve , I'd like you to meet the love of my love – my boyfriend Cody. Cody, this is Eve."

"We actually already met," Cody admitted to the French Beauty, "We met last week and I showed her around school so we kind of know each other."

"Yeah, he's a good tour guide," The Latina stood strong and plastered the biggest smile on her face, "I never knew you guys were dating," Eve just stared right at Cody and he returned back with an indifferent look, "How long have you two been together?"

"We're going to make eight months in a few weeks," Maryse proudly announced to Eve, who's fake smile grew larger and larger as she looked over at Cody, "I still can't believe it's lasted that long so far."

"Oh really," Eve nodded while looking at Cody, "Well, I'm definitely happy for you guys."

"I actually have to get to class – Rosa's probably waiting," Maryse kissed Cody on his lips, "I'll see you at lunch today," She turned and strutted away from the two of them.

"Didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"I know – I kind of left off that part when I was showing you around. It's just sometimes I just don't know what exactly to say because of the way Maryse is and I thought you'd judge me or something."

"I wouldn't have judged you if you just told me the truth," Eve muttered, "I would have be completely fine and I actually think Maryse is nice. Too bad you lied about – and I wonder if you lied about anything else."

"No, I didn't lie to you about everything else. I do like football, I am on the football team. I'm sorry that I lied. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Well, it's a little too late for that right?" Eve said as she turned her heel and walked away from Cody heading to her next class. She was indifferent and couldn't believe he lied like that and basically toyed with her. She believed maybe that he was a different guy and just expected so much different from him

**X__x__x__x__X**

With these congested hallways, it was just mission impossible to get around. Squeezing through the amount of bodies, she had made it into her third class of the day – Science Lab. Walking in, she grabbed an unoccupied seat over in the back of the room. The bell rang and in came the last of the students. One with glowing blonde hair in Mohawk style came over and took a seat next to Eve. He had a husky look to him and was clearly buff. He turned his head over and smiled at the Latina and she returned one in exchange.

"Class," Mr. Ryan spoke before them, "Okay, now we're going to do a little experimenting today. Now, you may pick anyone you'd like to be your paper so choose now and we'll begin in five minutes."

The blonde turned over to Eve preparing to speak to her, "So, do you want to be my partner or is there anyone else you want to be with?"

"Uh-"

"I really don't want to be alone or get stuck with some other loser."

Eve smiled and decided it was best to be with him, "Why not? I'll be your partner – I'm Eve by the way."

"Jack," Jack introduced himself, "The name is Jack Swagger. I think I heard that name before. Aren't you new around here or something?"

"Yeah, I just moved here from Denver."

"The new girl is from Denver."

"Well, I guess it's good to know that I'm known as the new girl from denver," Eve let out a small giggle, "But yeah – I just started here a week ago."

"Well, you're not just the new girl – you're the pretty new girl," Jack smiled at Eve once again, "So there's a difference between the two of them."

"Aw, thanks."

Maybe this day was turning around and maybe all guys weren't like Cody. Maybe he was a good guy.

**X__x__x__x__X**

In the midst of Gym class, Cody waited patiently along with his friend Dolph. Dolph Ziggler was West Beverly's ladies man. He was arrogant, full of himself and cocky. Cody doesn't even know why the two are friends but things fall in different places. The two waited on the stands outside of school waiting for the teacher – who was new at West Beverly but was a fellow alumni.

"Where is this new guy?" The Blonde groaned while pushing his hair back, "He better not be a douche or something because I also heard he's the new football coach too."

"What the hell happened to Hamilton?" Cody turned over to him, "I thought he was still around."

"He moved man and I think he retired too," Dolph told the football player, "And this guy use to go to this school. He graduated a while back."

Coming out through the school doors, was the new physical education teacher. Tall, tan skinned, tattoos down his arms and a near to shaven head, the man walked on the grassy fields he once played on. These were the same fields where he won his football championship and now it's time for him to step off the field and onto the sidelines. Walking confidently over to the field and staring at the twenty guys standing before him. He crossed his arms and stared at the group of guys.

Some of the guys were intimidated – even Dolph who is usually never intimidated was, "Well, I thought I'd never be back – standing on this field and teaching you guys how to play some sports. I'm Coach Orton to you guys."

Cody's was standing before a West Beverly Legend from the athletic department. He clearly recognized who he was just by looking right at him. He was Randy Orton – former West Beverly Running Back and helped led the team to championship before.

"Now, You'll refer to me as Coach Orton. Don't cross me or I'm going to make sure you suffer the consequences."

"Yeah right," Dolph talked back, "You can't make us do anything."

"You want to try me?" Randy asked him, "What's your name?"

"The name is Dolph Ziggler."

"Okay – Dolph. Get your ass up and give me five laps around on the track. Let's move it," Randy yelled at him but he just started to laugh, "Now!" Randy said in a much more threatening voice as Dolph jumped up and began to run.

Cody looked at his friend and nodded in disapproval, "What an idiot," He mumbled under his breath.

"The rest of you – give me a lap around the track," Randy answered as he saw Torrie was walking up to him as the gym class did as Randy told them to. Torrie walked up with a smile, standing beside Randy as he watched the students circle the field, "God – this kids these days."

"Welcome back to West Beverly."

"This place hasn't changed much. Same field, same arrogant jerk," Randy spoke about Dolph, "Some kid gave me attitude so he's doing five laps instead of one."

"Well, I have to guide these kids into the right direction so I get all one thousand and twelve hundred of them. Your spared with only about sixty kids."

"We're we like this when we were back in High School?"

"Well, when I was back in Boise – I was a good girl but then I got here and I think I still kept the whole image. For you, well I still find kids pulling a Randy and Stacy type of moments in this school," Torrie began to joke as memories of the past came back.

_Torrie was out in the halls grabbing a book she forgot for class. She opened her locker and grabbed the book and slammed the door shut to reveal John standing right there. Torrie jumped and yelped as John started laughing at Torrie. Torrie slapped his shoulder "You jerk" Torrie said_

_"I'm sorry. I just had too but you have to admit that it was pretty funny" John said smiling_

_"No it wasn't. You really scared me" Torrie said_

_John decided to have pity on Torrie. "Oh I'm sorry" He said pulling her into a hug._

_"That's right. You better apologize" Torrie said as she hugged John. She slowly raised her hand and slapped the back of his head making him groan but made Torrie laugh "Ha! That's what you get"_

_"Fine. I guess we are equal right?" John said "What class do you have now?"_

_"Government. I need to get a book but I'm also looking for Stacy. She's been gone from class for twenty minutes already" Torrie said_

_"Same. Plus I haven't seen Randy at all today" John said_

_Torrie suddenly heard some sort of noise. It was a thumping Noise "Did you hear that?" Torrie asked_

_"Nope" John said_

_"Its like a thumping noise" Torrie said as she heard the noise once again "There it is again"_

_"I heard it now" The Thumping came more periodic. John and Torrie followed the noise to a closet. The Janitor's closet "Wow. Some guy is getting lucky"_

_"How do you know that two people are having sex in there?" Torrie asked_

_John placed his ear onto the door and began to listen in. He heard moans and heavy breathing. "There moaning. What else could they be doing if there's moaning? Playing checkers?" John said_

_"Shut up" Torrie said. Torrie approached the door and placed her ear against the closet door. She listened in intently. She heard all the strange noises and her eyes lite up. "Yeah, I think there having sex"_

_"Really now Torrie?" John said sarcastically_

_Torrie stood up from the door and looked at John. "Are you curious about who's in there?" John asked_

_"A bit" Torrie said_

_"Do you want to find out?"_

_"How?"_

_"How do you think?" John said "By opening the door!"_

_"Ohh! Ok why not?" Torrie said just as there was one last loud moan coming from the door. Torrie and John took a step away from the door. The door knob was slowly turning as they waited to figure out who the duo in the closet were. The Door opened and Out came Randy putting his shirt on and Stacy fixing her skirt giggling. They Looked up and Saw both John and Torrie staring at them. John and Torrie started laughing as Randy and Stacy both placed shocked expressions of their faces. "It was you guys?" John said laughing_

"_What? No. We weren't doing anything" Stacy said defending her and Randy_

"_It's kind of obvious. I mean your coming out of the closet and both of you are fixing your clothes" Torrie said_

"_We didn't have sex in there" Stacy said "Right Randy?" Stacy elbowed Randy in the ribs_

"_Stacy, Face it. They know" Randy said_

"_We do not only know about it" John said_

"_We heard it too" Torrie said with a huge smile on her face trying not to laugh_

"_Oh my god! You heard us?!" Stacy asked_

"_I think the whole school did" John said breaking into laughter_

"_Especially that last moan" Torrie said "I think people in the neighborhood heard it" Torrie said_

"_Oh god." Stacy said placing her hand on her head_

"_Its Okay. We were just stretching the truth a bit" John said "But next time if you guys choose to do it. Don't do it in a Closet. Especially a Janitor's closet"_

"You still remember that day? I have trouble remembering anything from High School but you don't forget a damn thing."

"How could I even forget? That was just one of my favorite moments – catching you and Stacy in the closet," Torrie couldn't control her laughter as the bright son shined down, "Me and John laughed so hard," Torrie's thoughts began to go to John, "Yeah, me and John," Her tone had dropped to a somber one.

"I know you're still not 100% alright after the whole thing that happened with John. It's tough and I know you're hurting inside but maybe you should move on – there are plenty of guys out there that would kill to date you so why not give it a shot?"

"Randy – it's so much tougher than that. I swear, I know that chances of him being alive are so slim to none but Randy, I just have a feeling that he's still out there. I know he's still alive and I'm not giving up that one day he's going to come through that door and hug me again and be with his family," Torrie was getting emotional as she spoke about John again, "He's out there."

"But I still think you should go out and try something new – It won't hurt."

"I'll have to think about it," Was Torrie going to move on even though the chances of John being out there were low or should she just start over and maybe start dating? Such a big decision she had to make.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Only two more classes remained and Kelly waited as the time kept ticking and she was getting closer to getting out of there to go meet with a special someone. He was already outside waiting for her. As she got a few steps closer, she paused. She was about to enter her Geology class – a class she's doing well in so why go? She could be with someone she really wants to be with. Evan, who was also in this class, stopped when he saw Kelly pausing.

"Kel, You coming?" Evan asked, "The bell's about to ring and Mr. Jones will give us detention if we are late."

"I'm going to head to the bathroom," Lied the Blonde, "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay – I'll save you a sit," Evan responded back as he walked into class.

The bell rung and Kelly sprinted out of the hallway, straight outside. Outside, some of the students were already done with their day and they were on their way home. She quickly scanned the area looking for a Red SUV, where someone would be waiting for her. She spotted the red vehicle and rushed over as a man with short brown hair and a leather jacket left it's side. Kelly smiled when she opened the door to find him sitting in the driver's seat.

"Hey there," She leaned in and kissed him, feeling the metal on his lips, "Surprised to see me?"

"Yeah – I thought you had another class or something like that?" He asked in a husky tone, "But you decided to come?"

"I'd figured I'd cut class and come spend a little more time with you if you don't mind – especially since Maria is coming back in a few days so we might not be able to spend much time together once she gets back."

"We can – just because she comes back doesn't mean we can't see each other. We won't have to let her put a stop to our little rendezvous," He kissed her on the cheek, "So everything will be fine."

"My idea of our little get to togethers isn't going to the Motel down by Venice – I want to actually do something nice other than just sex. Why can't we do anything else that's fun and romantic?"

"Oh sure we can do that if you want to get caught and then she'd kill us both. For now, this is what we do. I love what we have going and what we do and it shouldn't escalate just yet," He told her trying to keep her relaxed, One day this is all be much better."

"I know – one day this world will accept a sixteen year old and thirty one year old being together and I hope it's soon," Kelly smiled while speaking to her older lover, "Is there a country that would accept us being together?"

"So country in Asia maybe."

"Maybe we should go there. Places there will accept the fact that we love each other and want to be together. But people here would just be totally disgusted."

"Yeah, that's the reason," He ignored Kelly's words as he drove out of the school's parking lot, "So let's head back to my place and have a little fun – shall we?"

"Yes – I'm down for some fun."

**X__x__x__x__X**

"Listen man, you said you would have everything for me," Ted was in the midst of confronting the Miz in the school's bathroom. Ted provided Miz with what he wanted but the Miz wasn't giving back in response. This is how business was suppose to work but not in Miz's case. It was obvious that Miz couldn't keep his side of the deal.

"Man, I don't got it all. Listen, I'll just give it to you tomorrow. I should get some money by then," The Miz pleaded, "Tomorrow, you'll get your money man. I swear."

"You sweared yesterday and the day before – Miz, you had time but now it's tick tocking till the end. Either pay up or suffer the consequences," The much stronger and buff Ted threatened him, "You don't know what it's like to cross me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Don't get all tough now Mike."

"Or what?" He took a step forward when Ted launched his fist into the air, striking the fool in the face. Falling over, Miz crashed to the ground like a ton of bricks. Once he was down, Ted struck him again – this time with his foot.

He groaned in pain, holding onto his stomach where Ted had kicked him. Ted came down to the ground and grabbed him by the back of his head, "Listen Miz and listen good, the money better be here before that last bell rings. If not, I'll make sure you suffer – got it?"

He nodded and Ted pushed his head back onto the hard floor. His body laid there, only hearing a groan as Ted walked out of the bathroom. He quickly fixed himself up as he walked through the hallway, bumping into a girl with light brown hair, "Watch it!"

He looked down and saw the girl who tried to give him health advice about smoking. Eve looked up and saw Ted, "It was you who would watch it."

"Oh so she speaks. I'm off to go smoke a cigarette – are you going to tell me that smoking is bad for me now?"

"Smoke as much as you want – I could care less," she said out of spite, walking by the man. Ted stood there, smirking before he walked off.

Eve marched into the lunchroom where she found Kelly typing up something on her laptop. Eve took a seat next to her, "What are you up to?"

"This report – I missed geology class and he assigned a report and if I had went to class I would have gotten half of it done but here I am – trying to right about rocks. Rocks are so uninteresting," The blonde closed her laptop, "But I'll do it during Gym."

"Why'd you miss class?"

"Oh no reason," She shrugged it off, "So, I saw you yesterday with a little blonde birdie."

"Jack?" Those tan cheeks turned a bright red and her eyes shot at the ground, "Yeah, I was with Jack."

"Eve Torries – spit it out? Do you have a crush on him?" Her facial expression said it all, "First you have it on Cody – who's taken and now you've moved onto the captain of the football team, Jack Swagger? Damn girl, you're moving fast."

"It's not like I'm dating him or anything.."

"Not yet at least," Kelly flashed a smile while Eve returned a cold look, "Oh come on, Eve your such a gorgeous girl and I can tell you like him," Kelly looked forward to see Jack talking to another friend and smiling back at Eve, "And he definitely has the hots for you because he is just staring and smiling."

"What?" Eve turned around and flashed a cute smile at Jack, who himself couldn't stop, "Wow, he really is smiling at me. Oh my god, I'm getting all giddy inside," Eve couldn't control herself as she turned back around, "Is he still looking?"

"He's walking too."

"What?!"

"He's walking – oh Hey Jack!" Kelly beamed as he came over to them, "I was actually just leaving so I better be on my way. I have this killer report to do so I'll be going. I'll leave you two alone," Kelly stood up and walked away, not without smiling at Eve once more.

"Do you mind if I take a seat?" Jack asked.

"Nope not at all," Eve offered up his seat, "Take a seat."

"Actually, I came over here to ask you something," Jack smiled as he couldn't exactly hold everything in, "Well, I was really hoping that maybe you would want to go out tonight? Maybe a nice dinner at this restaurant over on Rodeo drive – interested?"

"I would absolutely love that," Eve smiled back at the football player. Did she already have a date? With only being in this school for a week? She's working fast.

"Great – I'll pick you up at 7?"

"Perfect."

**X__x__x__x__X**

"So you're made because he's the new coach on the football team? I don't see why you're making this into such a big deal. You'll be fine and I just don't get why you are even on the football team? It's such a stupid sport and so pointless."

"Football is something I really enjoy – like how you enjoy getting a manicure and pedicures. I love football and I don't care what you think about it."

"Well, I don't want to talk about it," Maryse huffed as she and Cody walked down the hallways, "I have my big birthday party in two weeks and I have so much to plan and think about. My Dad is on business to New York trying to find a good DJ, Sophia isn't coming because she decides to go to Paris around that time and my mom wants to go plan it her way. It's just no fair," Maryse's sweet sixteen was coming up and she took a lot of time in planning it trying to make it an absolutely amazing day.

"I was just talking about me and my problems and you immediately ignore it and make it about yourself," Her boyfriend said who at the moment was pretty annoyed and fed up, "Can we not always make the situation about you?"

"I have my dress fitting today – it's this really cute silver dress. It's the perfect length and just the perfect amount of cleavage will be shown," An ecstatic smile came across her face, "And I need to get shoes – you'll come shoe shopping with me after school okay? And then I have to meet with Cleo too."

"Maryse –"

"You can also drive me to the club where I have to meet with Dante and set up the whole arrangements. Ugh, these next few days are crucial and if anything goes wrong – I'm going to kill the first thing I see."

"Maryse! Just shut up!"

Maryse turned around and faced her boyfriend, "What did you just tell me?"

"Just be quiet," Cody asked as his face went through his soft black hair, "You never take the time and just listen to me. Let me tell you what's bothering me so you can help me but no – you just make this whole thing about yourself. I was talking about who I don't like my new coach and your making everything about you!"

Cody just felt like he was being tossed to the side in this relationship. It was all about her and nothing about him and it did hurt him. There's two people in this relationship – not one.

"Well, I'm sorry if it bores me," Maryse arrogantly said, "I like to talk about things I like – not football or anything you like."

"Wow."

"Wow what?"

"You know, I listen to all your crap – how this girl is this, how your party is like this or whatever but I don't like to hear it either but guess what, I suck it up and I help you in the end," Cody told her, "It's like you care for nobody but yourself. When I have a problem it's like who cares but when it's your problem we have to listen."

Maryse's expression said it all – she didn't really care for what Cody was saying. Turning her head, she bit down on her tongue, "Then fine – I'll go by myself."

"Sometimes I just wonder why I'm with you," He said as he bowed away and walked away from Maryse. He just wonder why he was exactly with her when there's so many other girl he could be with. A sweet girl – a girl like Eve; maybe he should go and find her.

Maryse whipped out her cell phone, calling her sister Sophia for some advice. Her older sister was definitely an important figure in her life and she called her up anytime for some advice, even if she lives in New York City, "Sophia?"

"Maryse," The cheerful voice beamed through the phone, "It's so good to hear from you."

"Where are you?"

"Enjoying a cup of coffee with my lovely friend Jean Claude," Sophia let out a small giggle, "What are you calling about because you seem really mad?"

"It's Cody – he's being a jerk," Maryse growled through the phone, "He's calling me selfish and telling me I care about nobody but myself."

"Don't listen to him and why don't you just dump him? Quellet's can get anyone they want – any guy they want so stop wasting your time. Do you hear me sis?" Sophia looked at the time, "Look – I have to go. Me and Jean have a play to catch. I'll talk to you later – Ciao!"

"Ciao."

Tossing her phone back in her bag, she continued to walk through the hallways as so many thoughts raced through her mind as she thought about Cody and their relationship problems. What was she to do?

**X__x__x__x__X**

Torrie was walking the hallway with Dawn – with cups of coffees in both their hands. As they strolled, Dawn just spoke about another rendezvous she had with a man just the night before, "So we were talking and one thing led to another and his hand was already under my top, undoing my bra. He worked so quickly and ripped it off of me. I swear, he has like that magic touch or something."

"And how old was this guy?" Torrie raised her eyebrow at her colleague.

"Well, he's two years away from graduating from college so you do the math," A sly smile came across her lips, "and that's not even the youngest I've gone. I've hit somewhere around nineteen too."

"Dawn, you're such a dirty little girl," Torrie chuckled as they got outside her office, "Every day – I hear of some new rendezvous you've had. It's like sex and the city and you're the only one talking about sex."

"I'd let you talk but you're not getting any action," Dawn scanned the room and saw Mr. Styles exiting his classroom, "Why not AJ? He's fresh off the market after his divorce so I'm sure you could get with that."

"AJ just got divorced – he needs some time."

"So your thinking about it though, eh?"

"Dawn."

"While you have him, I could have a piece of that right over there," Dawn was staring right at the new gym teacher and football coach, Randy Orton who was conversing with the principal Stephanie McMahon. Dawn's heart stopped for a moment as she stared at the well sculpted man.

"Who?"

"Him – I wouldn't mine getting a piece of that – mhm!" Dawn answered, "That's something I'd kill for."

"Well, you won't be killing anything Dawn. Randy is my friend who is married to my best friend for your information," Torrie answered, "So there's something you won't be digging your claws into. Do I make myself clear?"

"Oh crystal clear," Dawn smirked as this woman certainly had different plans for Randy – even though he had some restrictions holding him back.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Later that night, Jack and Eve were having a date at Mr. Chun's – a famous restaurant that plenty of Hollywood celebrities come to quiet often. Eve was dressed her best in a tight blue dress and she kept her hair nice and straight instead of the usually curls. Jack and herself had juts finish their meals in their curved booth and were laughing away and talking the night away.

"I can't believe we ran into Jennifer Anistion," Eve was amazed at the celebrity she had seen, "And did you see the paparazzi following her. This was unbelievably – my friends in Denver are never going to believe me."

"You'll see a lot of that around here," Jack commented on the amount of celebrities in Beverly Hills, "I see Brad Pitt, Kobe O'Bryan and I live three houses away from Heidi Klum. It's like madness when it comes around here."

Eve sipped on her red wine, "This wine is delicious – I can't believe you got it. You're only sixteen so how'd you get it?"

"My Dad is Carl Swagger – Oscar winner and he knows the guy who owns this restaurant," Jack told her, "So that explains the nice seats we got, the bottle of wine and the quick service."

"Wow, Jack Swagger is a big shot celebrity now," Eve laughed, "I can't even believe I am actually here," Jack continued to stare at Eve, "What are you staring at?"

"You have such beautiful eyes."

"That's so sweet."

"There like so amazing. They gleam when they are in the light," Jack complimented, "And you really looked amazing," His hand came over, on top of hers as he leaned in more, "And those lips – it's making me do something."

"Do what?"

"It's making me want to kiss you so badly."

"Then what's stopping you?"

Jack smirked before he came closer to Eve, caressing her lips before his touched hers. It was sweet and romantic kiss. She moved a little closer to him as Jack's hand grazed the side of her cheek. The two continued, as one watched as he waited for a seat in the restaurant.

Cody was watching Eve and Jack going right at it. His heart was breaking – he wasn't going to lie. How could Eve kiss a guy like that? He knew how Jack was really like. He wasn't who she thought he really was.

"Sir, your reservation is ready."

Cody looked at the hostess, "I'm canceling mine."

Cody walked out of the restaurant not wanting to stare at that site. As he was walking to his car, he bumped into fellow student – Courtney Taylor. He paused for a moment, "Sorry Courtney, It was my fault."

Courtney was another student at West Beverly – a really sweet and kind girl. You'll never meet a girl like her anywhere else. It's hard to find a girl like that. Her Golden brownish blonde hair was beautiful, "It's okay Cody – Are you okay? You seem upset?"

"I'm fine."

"You sure."

"Yeah," He lied, "Actually no."

"Maybe I can help you."

A sudden urge came across Cody. He just pulled Courtney up to him and planted a kiss on her. She was surprised – Why the hell would Cody even be kissing her even though he was still with Maryse? Courtney didn't know but she didn't stop Cody. She let him continued whatever he was doing as the two. Cody was committing the ultimate Betrayal.

* * *

**A/N: **Finally Updated. No classes Tomorrow because of the Blizzard Coming! :) Almost 15 inches? Yes. Expect something to be updated tomorrow. Please be kind and leave a Review!


	3. Sweet and Sour

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Three_ - Sweet and Sour

Being in the office of any school official wasn't good. Even if it was the janitor's closet – well, not the janitor's closet but you obviously understand the point. Ted was sitting in the Guidance counselor's office waiting for Ms. Wilson to come inside. The school board decided that Ted should get more involved with school after his suspension. Ted was suspended from school for a few days since he had punched out Mike Mizazin also known as the Miz. Mr. Styles had found Miz in the bathroom and the Miz confessed to him what had happened to him.

Ted leaned back in the chair, like he didn't care. He really didn't. He was comfortable sitting on the chair, sitting slanted. What was Ms. Wilson going to make him do? Who knew – but he didn't care.

Ms. Wilson walked into her office with Mr. Styles right behind her. AJ leaned up against the bookcase in Torrie's office. Torrie took a seat in before her desk as she looked at Ted, "So Theodore.."

"The name is Ted – not Theodore. I'm not one of those chipmunks," Ted hated his real name. Theodore sounded just so old and not really normal. Why his mother named him that – he doesn't even know.

"Okay Ted," Torrie paused putting emphasis on his name, "Now, your suspension is up today so you may return to classes. Principal McMahon asked me to talk to you – see how you're doing."

"I'm quiet Dandy," He said in a smart remark, "Can I go now?"

"This hasn't even started Ted," AJ told him, "Ms. Wilson and I want to see how you're doing after this whole thing. To see maybe if you have learned your lesson about violence in the classroom."

"It wasn't in the classroom, it was in the bathroom so I wouldn't classify it was violence in the classroom."

"It was still on school grounds and it didn't matter where you did it because you're going to get punished for it anyway," AJ crosses his arms, "That's why you're here with us. Not for us to check on you and see how you're doing but to punish you a little more."

"And how are you going to do that Mr. Styles? Give me another one of your boring history lectures and tell me to write about it?" Ted questioned the teacher, "Bring whatever you got."

"It's not going to involve school work," Torrie told Ted, "It's actually going to be more about getting involved in school. Ted, you'll be joining the football team."

"With those loser jocks?" Ted raised his eyebrow. He wasn't exactly thrilled to do it, "I'm not a sports kind of guy so I will not be joining the football team or anything. You can't make me."

"Well, that leaves us with one thing to do," Torrie took a deep breath, "Mr. Styles, do you mind getting me Principal McMahon, Ted's permanent record and an expulsion form? I think Ted can no long stay here at West Beverly if he doesn't get his act straight."

Ted took a pause. He couldn't leave West Beverly. He didn't want to head over to a new school and start completely new. He didn't want that, "I'll join the team."

"Good," Torrie grinned, "So, you'll have a quick tryout later today with the head coach, Mr. Orton. You'll meet him on the field so make sure your ready. Hope you make the team and not only that – you'll be joining the school's newspaper and news show – the Beverly Channel."

"Yeah, whatever," Ted took his books and charged out of her office, having to join two different associations was going to be tough.

A slow clap came from AJ. He was a bit flattered at how Torrie handled the situation, "I would have never thought you had it in you. Good job Ms. Wilson."

"You know, I try," The blonde laughed, "Who would knew that the Guidance Counselor had it in her."

Torrie let out a cute little laugh, "Well, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my friend Trish. She originally had this position but two years ago she and my cousin moved out to San Bernardino since he got a job so she asked me if I needed a job and I figured why not?"

"You've been in Beverly Hills for a while?"

"I moved here when I was seventeen years old, with my cousin and my parents. I actually went here too," She proudly stated, "I went to Chicago was College, moved to New York too but I always ended up coming back here. It's like I needed Beverly Hills. I missed this place so much so I've been here for the past few years."

"I went to school over in Malibu but I decided to move here," AJ revealed, "It's a really nice place – I've been here for a few weeks and I really liked it here."

"You'll fit in perfectly. Beverly Hills is a very welcoming place," Torrie looked her watch, "I must get going. I have to go talk with Stephanie about a few things. I'll see you later," The blonde had risen from her chair and exited her office.

AJ stood there, feeling a bit love struck.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Roaming the hallways that morning, Cody just felt a guilty feeling come over him. What he had done was absolutely wrong but a part of it felt right. Was this a sign that he should just end it with Maryse? Is he wasting his time by being with her? He couldn't control himself when he saw Courtney. It was something that came over him and now he did what he did and just didn't know what else to do. His best bet was to tell Maryse and just face whatever he did with Courtney.

Speaking of her, Courtney was walking down the hallway and the smile on her face said it all. It seemed like she found just who she was looking for. The peachy blonde walked over to him and greeted him, "Just the guy I was looking for. I've been looking for you since Monday and I thought you had gone M.I.A"

"I was just dropping my books off since I am heading to Gym now. Coach Orton is going to make me run ten laps if I don't get down there right now," Cody had alerted her as he tried to walk away but she stepped before him, "Courtney, I can't talk."

"It will only take a minute of your time – I promise," Her dimples popped out of her cheeks, "Now, I know what happened Friday night and I really felt something there and I know you did too – I just know it so I was hoping we could continue what we had. You don't need Maryse."

Having a relationship with Courtney was not the right move at the moment. Maryse would flip and his heart wasn't exactly in the right place to be with Courtney. His heart was never with her – it was leaving Maryse and heading over to Eve who's still with Jack, "Courtney, listen – you're an amazing girl but what we had was just a onetime thing."

"A onetime thing? Like a one night stand?"

As much as he didn't want to put it like that, that pretty much was the answer to this. It was a onetime thing and it wasn't going to evolve, "I guess," His finger rubbed down on the back of his head, scraping his scalp, "I'm sorry if I hurt you or anything."

Courtney's smile turned into a glare, "How could you?" Courtney definitely wasn't going to take this. Her opinion was going to be made known, "How could you even do this? You have a girlfriend, have sex with me and then just want to call it quits and run back to Maryse? I don't understand you – why would you even do this in the first place?"

"It was a mistake for me to do that and I'm sorry that I did this to you. You didn't deserve it and I'm sorry. I wish I could take this back but I can't – Please Courtney, please understand. I didn't mean to hurt you or anything like that."

"Your nothing but a pig," Courtney pushed Cody aside, "And you'll pay for this," She just trailed off in fury. This blonde wasn't going to be pushed around and not taken lightly and by the time she got to the end of the hallway, she revealed the tape recorder that was being held in her hand. She quickly pressed stop and smirked to herself.

Cody just had to let that go for the moment. He trailed off down to the locker room to get ready for Gym. He could hear his fellow classmates yapping away about different things like girls. He heard the voice of the husky Jack Swagger, captain of the football team talking. He paused when he heard him beginning to talk.

"I am so close to getting with her. I kissed her last Friday and by this Friday, I'm going to hit the homerun," Jack began to chuckle as he was speaking to his friends, "And I'll be getting some and have an extra one hundred bucks in my pocket – right Drake?"

"Well, we have to see if you are going to go through with it – there could be a chance that you won't get anything."

"I have you looked at me. I'm Jack Swagger – absolutely irresistible. When people see me, they just want to throw themselves at me and have a bite of me and I am always up for accepting it," He started to laugh again which annoyed Cody a lot.

"When are you going to do it?"

"Well, Maryse's party is this Friday so I'll get her by then. Eve is just going to be another notch on my belt and that will be that," Cody peaked over to see him with a devilish smirk on his face, "And it's going to be my best notch yet."

"Man, you're lucky you're going to get a piece of that," His friend Josh said.

"Well, you can get her after – she'll just be my sloppy seconds to you."

Cody began to fume. Cody couldn't stand the fact on how Jack was just using Eve. Eve certainly didn't deserve this. A sweet and beautiful girl like her truly deserved better and nothing like this. He had to warn her as soon as possible because he wasn't going to see her get hurt. A girl like that deserves the best and Jack is not the best – but who is?

**X__x__x__x__X**

"_Come and meet me outside."_

Kelly glanced at her text as she and Evan were at the Beverly News club also known as the West Beverly Channel meeting. It was the school newspaper and daily television show all in one. Evan was the man in charge and the group of students, including himself and Kelly had news stories to cover. Kelly sat by the window and could see him parked at his car waiting for her while some guy was leaving his car. Evan was in the midst of giving everyone their roles for this week's edition of the Beverly Channel.

"Okay, I've got everyone's assignments for the week," Evan scrolled down his list, "Okay, Sam, Lisa, George and Kyle – I've got your articles that you'll be writing for this week's edition and Jane, Tyler, Scott and Maxie will be taking care of the news reporting for the rest of the week."

Evan looked down his list again seeing Ted's name, "And we have a new member, Is Ted here?"

"Yeah, I'm here," The man came rolling into the room and took a seat, twirling his pencil around in his hand, "Okay – now, what do I write? Anything interesting?" Kelly glanced at the man, seeing that he was the same guy who stepped out of her lover's car.

"You won't just write yet," Evan told him, "You start at the bottom and work your way up. You'll get there Ted but for now, you're our new camera man for the morning announcements. Head over to Lisa and she'll tell you what to do," Evan pointed out to him.

He looked over and reluctantly walked over and began to work on whatever he had to get down. Kelly walked over and sat next to Evan as the other members began to work, "So I don't think I'm going to get to stay for this meeting. I have to go do some errands for Torrie since she has Ella and Ethan. I want to help her out."

"Oh," Evan was a bit disappointed but he understood why Kelly was doing this, "I understand. How are you going to get there?"

"My friend is waiting outside," Kelly pointed toward the window, "He's going to take me to the store so I can grab some things for her."

"Okay," Evan nodded, "I'll let you go this one time but next time you've got to stay," Evan warned her, "You're my best reporter here and I really need you."

"Aw," She slapped his shoulder, "Don't make me blush now – I don't think I'm the best. You're really good and so are Maxie and George."

"But I think you're the best."

"Stop kissing my behind," She giggled, "But I will definitely make this up to you. I'll come tomorrow morning to help out with the morning news report – I promise."

Kelly patted him on the back before she walked out of the classroom. Through the front door of school, Kelly came up to her Lover's car and he greeted her with a smile, "Sorry – I was trying to get out of my newspaper club. Sorry if I kept you too long."

"You didn't," He answered, "But shall we just head off and go have some fun before she comes back tomorrow afternoon. I was actually thinking that maybe instead of going to school, you'd come spend the morning me with before Maria gets home."

Kelly has some previous plans but she supposed she could put them aside for now, "I do but I could cancel," She was speaking about her promise to Evan but it seem like now she was going to break it, "I can always make some time for you. No matter what."

"Even if you risk such big things for me?"

"I'd sacrifice anything for you – You're absolutely amazing and of course I'm going to do anything for you because I'd know you'd do the same for me," Kelly smiled, "Aren't I right?"

"Yeah, your right."

As the two drove off, Evan stared out the window finding something odd in this whole thing.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Your sweet sixteen is such a big day for any girl – especially if you are Maryse. Maryse was planting her finishing touches on her birthday party which was schedule for tomorrow night at one of L.A's hottest clubs – Studio Seventy Seven. Her dress was picked out, the DJ was set, the band was scheduled to perform, Favors were done, All two hundred guests had R.S.V.P and her long stretch limo was ready. It was only going to be a perfect night for her. The French beauty couldn't hang around anymore for it.

As she walked in the hallways with her black bumps clamping down the halls, she came by Eve who was grabbing some books from her locker, "Hello Eve – I've been looking for you and I've finally found you."

"Hey Maryse," Eve smiled, "You seem really happy – I haven't seen you smile like that in such a long time. What's going on?"

"Well, my ultra fabulous party is tomorrow and I can't wait. Everything is set and I'm finally going to have my dream sweet sixteen – nothing is going to go wrong," Maryse beamed toward the brunette, "I can't wait till tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, your big sweet sixteen is tomorrow night. I bet you're excited."

"It's going to be great – I've got the greatest indie band coming to town, my DJ has played at Paris Hilton's parties and Diddy had his Birthday in the club I'm having mine in. Can it be any more spectacular than that?"

"Lucky."

"Well you're about to be a bit luckier," Maryse went into her bag and slipped out an invite, "I've been meaning to ask you to come for a while now and I just found a spare invitation at my house so I figured I'd give it to you and since Jack is also coming, I'd figured you'd like to go. You two can spend some time together."

Eve accepted the invitation graciously, "Thanks Maryse – I'd absolutely love to go and you can count on me being there. I can go dress shopping now and pick out something really nice to wear."

"Just no blue – I'm wearing blue and you'll see it on the invitation," Maryse giggled before she hooked her arm onto Eve, "No, I think a yellow colored dress would suit you well. My car's outside so I'll take you dress shopping and we'll pick the best dress out there possible – well, second to my dress at least.

The duo headed out of school, preparing for a long day of shopping.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Early that following morning, Kelly laid in her lover's bed with the white sheet wrapped around her slender body. She grabbed her phone and quickly sent Evan a text saying that she wasn't going to be coming this morning for the news report. She made up a white lie to get out of it, knowing he'd believe it. She stretched out her arms releasing a pleasing groan just as he stepped in.

"Good morning," He greeted her as he was only dressed in a pair of shorts, "Have you been up long?"

"Nope, I just got up and I sent Evan a text saying I wasn't coming in today so I can spend the whole day with you!" She leaned up and placed a kiss on his lips, "What time is Maria suppose to be getting home?"

"I have to get her at the airport around three o'clock so we've still got some time," He alerted her, "And I need to clean this place up. Maria's a neat freak and she always wanted me to clean this place up before she comes home."

"We'll get to that after this," Kelly tugged him down onto the bed and began to kiss him. The two tussled around the sheets, rolling around as the continued to kiss until the noise of the door opening. Kelly heard it and immediately stopped, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" He asked, "I didn't hear anything so let's get back to business," He kissed down on her neck as Kelly was still worried about the odd noise when she heard footsteps, "I really hear something."

"Sweetie, where are you?"

The two instantly froze when they heard whose voice it was. Maria had apparently gotten home early. They both jumped up, "Oh god, I knew I heard something!" Kelly softly spoke, "I've got to get out of here!"

"Grab your things and try and jump down," He told her as he began to pick up her clothes while she put on her t-shirt, "And I'll meet you down the block to take you home. Hurry before she gets here!"

"Well, this is just surprising," Kelly placed on her jeans, "She's supposed to come home later but instead she comes home a bit earlier. This is just absolutely wonderful," The blonde said sarcastically.

"Get moving!"

"Are you in the bedroom?" Maria slowly began to walk down the hallway. Step by Step as Kelly continued to get dressed so she could leave, "Is my baby still sleeping?" This was it, Maria opened the door to find her boyfriend laying on the bed, still sound asleep. She walked over and gently patted his hair, "Hello sweetie."

He opened his eyes to be greeted by her beautiful smile, "Hey there – you're home early."

"Well, I had the chance to take an earlier flight so I was like why not – if I can get home faster to you and just have some little more time with you before I have to go again," She smiled, "Because in another two weeks, I have to head back to New York."

"Oh really?" Perfect chance for him to be with Kelly a little bit more, "That's great – so I guess the whole fashion line is working out for you."

"It is," She smiled, "It's working well and I've got you too so it makes it much more better," Maria leaned over and gave him a kiss and eventually he grabbed her and took her over and began to kiss her even more.

Kelly peaked over through the window to see her lover and Maria ever so happy. It was like she never existed when she was home. Kelly didn't just want this to continue like that but she actually wanted something. Not some affair because he still wants to keep his girlfriend when he really doesn't love her. Kelly knew he loved her and that he really didn't want to be with Maria. Only time will tell when he will just dump her and the two can just finally be together – no interruptions or anything like that.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Dawn was filing some paperwork at the Principals office. Her job as a secretary was pretty basic. Take phone calls, make any appointments, arrange meetings and talk to teachers or parents before they have their meeting with the principal. Dawn did her job but things happen when her thoughts would go elsewhere as she was trying to do her job. Outside the principals office Randy was standing there, waiting for someone. She quickly fixed her top up, unbuttoning one button before she headed out to greet him.

"Are you here to talk to Stephanie? Because she's having a meeting with some contractors and she should be back in a few minutes," Dawn had notified the teacher, "You can wait here if you'd like."

Randy glanced over at Dawn, "I just wanted to ask her something but if she's busy, it could wait a little while longer. I don't believe I've met you yet. Are you a teacher or something?"

"I'm one of Stephanie's secretaries, Dawn," She reached out and extended her hand, "And you are?"

"I'm Randy, the new gym teacher and football coach," He gladly shook her hand gently and smiled.

"Randy? Where have I heard that name? You're Torrie's friend right?" She asked as he nodded, "Oh yeah, Torrie told me about how your new here. Welcome to West Beverly – I'm sure it's hard starting to work in a new place."

"I'm actually an Alumni – Me and Torrie graduated together a while back and now we both work here now," He chuckled lightly causing Dawn to blush, "My wife graduated her too."

"Oh really? A wife," She said in a not to excited tone and her face just dropped when she saw a blonde walking into the room.

"So here's my husband, hard at work?" A cute sweet voice chirped and Randy turned around to be greeted by his wife, Stacy Orton, "Hello," She walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Surprised to see me here?"

"Didn't really expect this," He smiled as he looked back at Dawn, "Oh Stacy – this is Dawn, she's the principal's secretary here. Dawn, this is my wife Stacy."

Stacy graciously shook her hand, "It's really nice to meet you."

"Same here."

Stacy turned her attention back to Randy, "I came buy hoping we could have some lunch. I dropped the kids off at your parents so they are there till tonight so we can finally have some time together. What do you say?" She wrapped her hand around his.

"Sounds good," Randy turned back to Dawn, "Just tell Stephanie I'll speak with her later."

"Okay, No problem," Dawn said putting on a fake smile for the two of them. Dawn looked at the leggy blonde in disgust as she was determined to get a piece of Randy no matter who was standing in her way – even his wife and kids. Dawn was never determined than before.

Randy and Stacy headed out of the main office. The pair walked around school as memories of the past were brought back. Stacy gazed at the hallway before she saw her locker that she had senior year, "Look it's locker thirty five. I can't believe I still even remember my locker number. God, it feels like yesterday that we were once here and it just feels so odd to be back here. I still remembered when we all graduated and when we had prom. So many things."

"Like what?" Randy asked her, "What do you remember?"

"I remember in the lunchroom, I would always gossip about you. Everyone would tell me that I was an idiot for liking you but I didn't care. I just said your six pack makes up for it," Stacy giggled like a high school student, "Oh, that was fun."

"What? You'd gossip over me."

"Well yeah, Ask Torrie and Lita – they'll tell you the things I would say since after all I had such a huge crush on you. You don't understand girls or anything like that do you?" Stacy questioned him, "Like we talk a lot and just speak our minds when no guy is around."

"Thank god I didn't sit at the lunch table with you all the time."

"I also still remember the earthquake that struck," Randy nodded, "Wasn't that a crazy day?"

**The Earthquake.**

"_Andrew, Stop!" Stacy yelled out, trying to push the larger man off her but she failed. Instead, he applied more Pressure on Stacy to hold her down. Stacy tried with all her might but nothing was working. She had just gave up. Andrew had began to remove her shirt, exposing her bra. Stacy just let tears flow from her eyes._

_Randy continued to peak in the room and knew he had to do something. Andrew was being an Animal and Randy wasn't going to have anymore of it. He opened the door wide open and sprinted up to the two._

_He pulled Andrew off of Stacy. "You Son of Bitch." Randy proceeded to Punch Andrew in the face, knocking him to the ground._

_Randy offered Stacy his Hand. "Stacy, Come on!"_

_Stacy let out a small smile, relived that Randy had come to her Rescue. Stacy accepted his Hand as the two Ran out of the room._

_Andrew shook his head, as anger grew inside of him. He ran out of the room, trying to find the two. "Your not getting away."_

_Randy and Stacy found and elevator. Randy pressed the button for the elevator to come. They waited, so anxiously for the elevator._

"_Come On, Come On!" Randy said._

_Stacy started to shake in nervousness. She didn't know what Andrew was capable of._

_Andrew came down the Hall and saw the two. Stacy turned and saw him standing there, looking extremely furious. "Randy!" She cried out._

_Randy turned to what had grabbed Stacy's attention. "Shit." He Muttered._

_Suddenly. The Elevator Arrived. The doors opened and Randy pulled Stacy in. He pressed any button, just to take them away from this floor. The doors began to close, just The Andrew appeared but the doors closed just in time._

_Stacy sighed with relief. "Thank you."_

"_You think I was going to let him hurt you? Guess again." Randy said_

"_Weren't you suppose to be with Jackie?"_

"_We Broke up."_

"_Why? Why would you go do that?"_

"_Because I'm still in Love with you."_

_The Lights in the Elevator flickered and the shaft started to shake. The mirrors in the elevator cracked, causing Stacy to yelp. The whole shaft began to shake._

"_Randy, I'm scared."_

"_Come here." Randy pulled Stacy into a tight hug, holding her to make sure nothing happens to her and keep her from harms way._

_Moments later.._

_The Lights in the Elevator remained Dim. The Mirrors were cracked and it started to get much more chiller in the elevator. The Shirtless Stacy, had her arms cross together, with Randy holding her to provide some extra warmth._

"_Still Cold?" Randy asked_

"_Yeah.." Stacy chattered her teeth together._

"_Here, take my shirt" Randy removed his T-shirt and handed it to Stacy to keep her warm._

"_Won't you be cold?"_

"_I'll live." Randy said._

_Stacy placed the shirt on her skinny body. Randy held her tighter, continuing to keep her warm. Stacy thought it was Great to be back in his Arms. She loved the feeling._

"_So Randy, Your still in love with me?" Stacy asked, wanting to know what Randy was really feeling._

"_Stacy, I never stopped Loving you. When we ended it, I missed you like crazy. I just really started to Date Jackie only to get over you and it didn't work because all I thought about was you. I couldn't shake you off. When I saw you with Andrew, it just killed me and made me want you even more."_

"_I still Love you too." Stacy replied. "I missed you like crazy. I just thought it was best that I move on because I saw you with Jackie."_

_Stacy turned her head and leaned up to Randy and did something she missed doing. Kissing Randy. Randy deepened the Kiss. Boy, did he miss doing that._

"_So, Are we Back on?" He asked_

"_You Bet!" Stacy replied_

_Even through all that had happen. The two still loved each other so much and nothing was strong enough to destroy it. Earthquakes were meant to split things up but in this case, it brought them together_

"Aw, My Hero," She smiled kissing him on the cheek, "What would I have ever done without you?"

**X__x__x__x__X**

It had finally came and it felt like forever for Maryse. The music was rolling, drinks were being poured and guests were satisfied in the club. Over at the main stage, the DJ was spinning while a midst of bodies were dancing around the DJ. Maryse was over at the Bar, talking to a few of her cousins who had came from Montreal just for her party. Maryse was decked out – blue strapless dress, silver pumps and freshly manicured fingernails.

As she finished her conversation with her cousins, her friends – Alicia and Rosa – had joined her. Rosa had on a single sleeved red dress while Alicia had a violet cocktail dress on. The two both had on bright smiles while they looked at the birthday girl, "You look hot girl," Alicia complimented.

"I love the blue on you," Rosa spoke about her dress, "It's right in all the right places," Rosa glanced down at Maryse's bottom, "If you know what I mean."

"Thanks girls," Maryse smiled, "But what do you think about everything else? The music – the drinks – the club?"

"It's perfect," Alicia told her, "You've got nothing to worry about because tonight is all about you. This is your sweet sixteen because after this, it's only going to get sour," She chuckled, "But nothing will ever get sour for you."

"It will be a little more sweeter if I could find Cody," Maryse stated, "I've been texting him because I haven't seen him in the past hour and I want to dance with him. He said he would stay right by me throughout the night and he's already gone."

"You'll find him," Rosa took Alicia's hand, "Let's go grab a few drinks Alicia – My system needs a little energy."

Her friends left her side and Maryse stood in the crowd as she desperately searched for Cody. As she walked around, she greeted a few people but that wasn't who she was looking for. Where could he have gone?

As she looked around further, her shoulder bumped into somebody else. Another guest – it was Eve. Eve greeted her with a smile, "Hey Maryse!"

"Eve," She smiled, "You came and the dress we picked out is really nice – well not as nice as mine but it's nice," Maryse spoke about Eve's yellow Bubble dress with silver sandals and her curly brown hair.

"Thanks – and you yourself look absolutely amazing."

"Oh stop it."

"No you really do – I love the dress and your hair."

"Well, Julio did a really good job with my hair," The birthday girl had pointed out while running her fingers through her straight hair, "Have you seen Cody at all? I've been looking for him for a while and I just can't find him."

"He should be somewhere around here," The Latina sipped on her fruity red drink, "I'm sure you'll find him."

"Well, I'm going to look some more and if you see him, just tell him I'm looking for him," The French beauty asked before she went on further to search for her beau.

Eve stood there, hitting her hand against her thigh to the music while sipping on her drink every few seconds. A few lyrics would pop out of her mouth since she liked this song so much. She was waiting for Jack to come as well, since he too was invited.

As the song ended, she felt a heavy feeling come over her toe. She kept in her scream and came face to face with the person who had stepped on her, "Ouch," The Latina yelped before she realized who it was, "Cody?"

"Sorry Eve," He apologized, "I wasn't paying attention on where I was going since I was in a bit of a rush. Someone was kind of stalking me."

"Well, let me not interrupt you," Eve tried to walk away but Cody grabbed her and turned her around, "What do you want?"

"Listen, I have to tell you something that I heard and it's about you," Cody spoke as he was about to reveal something to her, "I was in the locker room and I overheard Jack talking about he was just using you. He's using you for a bet. He's betting that he could sleep with you for hundred bucks."

The Latina was surprised but didn't exactly want to believe Cody. How could she? He has lied to her before, "Listen Cody – you probably heard it wrong. Jack wouldn't do that – he's a really good guy and he likes me and I like him. If this is you trying to come between us, it isn't going to work. Why should I even trust you? You lied to me before so I'm not even going to listen to you."

"I swear on my life I heard that."

Eve nodded in repulsion, "Cody, just stop. I'm not even going to listen to you anymore. I just can't stand to hear you lie. Just leave me alone – you liar," She trailed off, leaving the football player to stand there. Eve went through the crowd of people to find Jack talking to one of his teammates, "I am a one hundred dollar bet to you?"

"What?" He acted so surprised, "Eve, what the hell are you talking about? Bet?"

"Well, I heard that your betting someone with someone on the team that you could sleep with me – is this true Jack? Because I just want you to tell me now so I can just go on doing my own things?"

"Eve," Spoke the male, "I'm not betting on you. I really like you and I would never risk that with you. You're a girl I can actually see myself with. Your kind and sweet and everything a guy would want. I would never want to risk that – that bet, I don't know who started that but it's not true."

"You sure?"

"One hundred percent," Her grazed her cheek before placing a kiss on her lips, "I would never do something like that. Other guys would, but I wouldn't."

"Well, okay," She had fallen for it – Jack had tricked her into believing him, "Now that I found you, can we please go dance? Kelly wasn't invited so you're my only dance partner, so come on, Eve began to drag the larger man onto the dance floor as Cody watched on, extremely upset that she didn't believe him but believed Jack.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Cody stood by the bar, sipping on a drink when someone he just didn't want to see came up to him. He let out a groan as Courtney was approaching him with a small little silver gift bag in her hand. What did she want was what he wondered. Was she still upset about what had happened a few days ago? Time to just blow her off again, "Courtney, I can see your back."

"I've not come back to beg you to be with me but I've came just to give you a chance to end it with Maryse so we can be together," Courtney sweetly asked, "And if you say no, then no it is. I won't bother you anymore and this will be the last that you see of me."

"Courtney, like I said – you're an amazing girl but our thing was just a one time thing. I'm really sorry about it and I hope you understand."

"Okay, I understand."

"And please don't tell Maryse," He had asked her, "Please Courtney."

"I am a woman of my word so I understand," She glanced down at the ground for a moment, "Well, I'm off. You won't be seeing me anymore," She turned around and walked away from him, "But I don't go away quietly Cody," She said softly.

Walking further, she had come to the next part of her plan. There was the birthday girl standing over at the hallway that lead to into the club. She walked over with a fake smile plastered over her face, "Maryse – Happy Birthday!"

"Hi Courtney," She smiled, "And thank you."

"You're welcome," Courtney smiled, "Why are you so sad?"

"I've been looking for Cody and I just can't find him," Maryse had revealed, "The party is almost over and we still haven't had a dance together or anything. I've tried calling him but nothing."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," She pouted, "But I've got a gift for you and you have to promise me your going to open it when I leave. I'd love to stay but I have a wedding in San Diego so I need to get up early," She handed her the gift, "Enjoy my gift okay? I think you're going to love it."

Maryse accepted the gift, "Thank you," She smiled, "And I'll open it – I need something to lift my spirit up."

"Have a good night and enjoy your birthday," Courtney smiled before she walked down the hallway and out of the club. It was easier than she thought it was going to be.

An excited Maryse opened up the gift that Courtney had given her. In the same bag, she found a voice recorder with a little post it on it saying 'play me' and Maryse was going to do as she was directed. She held the speaker close to her ear to hear what was on the recorder.

Meanwhile, Cody has found Maryse. He began to walk up to her and a big gracious smile on his face. He looked further to see Maryse listening to something, "Maryse?" He called out but no response, "Maryse what are you doing?"

She slowly turned around to face him. After hearing the tape, she looked at her cheating boyfriend. She was mad and Cody could see the fire in her eyes building, the little vein on her forehead popping up. This wasn't good – not one bit, "Cody," She said grimly, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"I don't think there's anything I have to tell you."

"Nothing about," Maryse paused, "Nothing about you cheating on me – with Courtney."

He was caught on the spot, "Maryse, I can explain."

And he didn't get to explain as Maryse's cold palm went straight across his face. He held his cheek as Maryse stood there in fury. They were over – done – finished – no more. Maryse gave him one last look before she turned her cheek and walked straight out of the club. Cody just stood there, trying to absorb the events that had just occurred. Apparently, he was back on the market.

* * *

**A/N:** Another chapter completed :) What did everyone think? Please take the time out and review! That's what we Author's love to see!


	4. Forever is Over

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Four_ - Forever is Over

Another day at work for Torrie Wilson, trying to keep the young lives of West Beverly students on the right path to success. Her cup of dark coffee with two sugars rested upon her desk, next to a stack of papers she had to file. It was certainly going to be a very long day. Any day at work is always a long one. Through her computer screen, she realized that she had a few emails that she hadn't read. She glanced through them and realized that at one o'clock, she has a meeting with a group of seniors and a meeting with Principal McMahon.

The further she went down the list of emails, she came across the many emails that were already read but one stood out to her. It was from John. Over the course of time he was spending at the military base, he had sent her email frequently back and forth. He would update her on everything while she did the same and sent pictures of their children, Nathan and Ella.

Her hand went over the mouse and she dragged it to the email, clicking it open to read it once more.

_Dear Torrie, _

_I don't even know where to begin. This has been my first email to you in the past three weeks. I was sent out. I had no clue when I'd be back but now I finally got my chance. I went over the pictures of Ella and I'm just sad that I'm not there to see her grow up. I might not be there for her first words or her first steps. I just want to leave this place even though I've been here for only a few weeks but I can't stand to wait another seven months to get home to you guys. That's suicide. But after this leave, I'm done. I can finally get a job with the military that doesn't involve be having to constantly leave your sides. I can't wait to get back on that plane and come home to you guys. There's not a moment when I think of you, Nathan and Ella. I keep your pictures over my bunk bed so when I looked up, it's the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see. This email is going to be a quick one since the head officer is rushing us. I'll write back to you guys as soon as I can. Until then, I love you and can't wait to have you back in my arms again_

_Love,  
John_

She looked down with grief just being reminded that John wasn't coming back and that he was gone. Face it – if your feared dead, than you most likely are. She closed the email just as she received a knock on her door, "Come on in," She called out to the person behind the door.

The door creaked open and a familiar face came rolling in, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I know Ms. Wilson is usually a very busy person."

She howled lightly, "And It obvious that you're not busy since you've came into my office Mr. Styles," She shot him a smile, "Anything you need Mr. Styles?"

"When the students aren't around, you can call me AJ – no need for the Mr. Styles."

"Oh excuse me AJ," Torrie spoke, "Come on in – close the door. I hate when students peak into my room while I do work. I'm usually greeted by spitballs or paper planes instead of sweet smiles."

AJ chuckled as he shut the door, "I actually came in to ask you a quick question – if you don't mind."

"Ask away."

Cracking on his knuckles, his nerves were getting the best of him and he just needed to ask already and stop being such a wimp, "I was hoping that maybe tomorrow night that you'd like to out to dinner with me?"

Immediately, Torrie assumed that this would be like a date. She wouldn't exactly mind – AJ was really a nice guy and had something sweet about him, "I'd love to go out to dinner with you. I've got plenty of time on my hands."

"Really?" He felt the weight lifted off his shoulders, "That's great – I was thinking of going to Cosmo's tomorrow? I can pick you up around say eight o'clock? That's if that's okay with you."

"I actually live a few blocks away from Cosmo's," Torrie remarked, "How about I meet you there around 8?"

"Okay – that sounds like –"

"A date."

"Yeah," He nodded and smiled along, "Sounds like a date – make sure to dress your best," He began to walk back toward the door. Opening it, he turned back to her, "I'm looking forward to tomorrow night," He said last before exiting the room.

A smile came across her face – it was time to move on and start off all fresh. She looked down at her desk and glanced at a photo of John, "I'm sorry John – but it's time to move on and I know you'd want me to move on too."

Kelly came barging into her office next. She noticed her older sister's big smile and immediately grew suspicious, "What are you so Dandy about?"

She quickly snapped out of her trance, "Oh nothing," She shrugged off, "But I have some news for you – you're babysitting tomorrow night."

**X__x__x__x__X**

She was taking baby steps that Monday morning through the hallways. With one half of her best friends by her side, Rosa walked with her. Maryse just tried to keep a straight face and try not to seem devastated that Cody had cheated with her. Another relationship of hers has failed. It was odd – there wasn't a guy that has stuck by her for a long time. They would usually be gone quick. It was like they came – did there damage – and just left.

By the looks of her fellow classmates, she knew that they knew what was going on. Those looks don't lie. Some seemed serious and felt bad for her but some just seemed evil and cruel as if she deserved to be cheated on.

"So my guess is that the whole school knows about me and Cody right?" She asked Rosa who nodded, "And some people seem to be sad for me while others think I deserved it. How sweet." Rosa nodded once again.

"Don't let it bother you," Rosa spoke to her, "Now, I've got class – I'll see you at lunch."

Rosa left the blonde's side and she continued to walk down the hallway. She kept her eye out for Cody, not wanting to bump into him. She couldn't face him. It was just so tough to see the man you once loved – once cared about and find out he was unfaithful. It will never be the same between the two. Even if they remained friends which was unlikely, it was going to be impossible to maintain a steady friendship.

Turning the corner, Maryse saw Cody right at his locker. She paused before he slowly turned his head, facing him – eye to eye. Neither one moved. It was just so awkward. It screamed awkward. Everyone around them knew it was awkward.

Maryse turned away and headed into class – she couldn't bare the site of him anymore and just wanted to escape.

The class was full. There was only one seat left in the class – which was all the way in back next to Cody's friend – Dolph. A groan flooded out of her lips as she walked through the desks and took a seat next to him.

He made the effort to speak to the heartbroken blonde, "I heard what Cody did Maryse – I feel really bad and I want to let you know that I'm here for you in you need any help. I'm very good at helping girls get through tough breakups."

"Oh really?"

"Yes – I have a secret remedy to help you out," Dolph smirked, "I can give it to you later if you want. It will take all of your pain away."

The devious blonde needed to relieve her stress somehow and it seemed that using Dolph's 'healing' power may help. An evil smirk curved on her lips, "Now, Doctor Dolph – What is it that you recommend to help me?"

"Just meet me at the Peach Pit – right after school."

**X__x__x__x__X**

Sitting in the kitchen of her home, Eve was sucking down a delicious strawberry milkshake she was had made while her two other friends, Kelly and Evan were gorging themselves in her fridge, "Guys – you're going to have to make me restock my fridge after you leave?"

"What are you talking about?" Evan spoke as he held onto a banana and an apple, "I'm just trying to find the perfect fruits to put in my milkshake. It takes time and patience to acquire the proper fruits."

"Ditto," The blonde agreed as she came out of the fridge holding onto her fruits of choice, "Now, how do I operate this machinery?" Kelly glanced at the blender as she tossed in her fruits and milk, "Now I believe I press the blend button?"

"Now I believe your having a blonde moment?" Evan joked as Kelly pressed the blend button waiting for her milkshake to finish blending.

"So before we raided your fridge, you were telling us something about what had happen to Maryse and Cody?" Kelly asked Eve, "This is probably going to be good – give me all the details Eve."

"Well the first thing is about Cody – He apparently thinks that Jack is using me for a bet. Apparently he heard it in the locker room when they were changing but I didn't believe him. He's lied to me before so why should I believe him again? Am I right?"

"Hm," Kelly thought about it, "Should you believe Prince Cody? That is a very good question – what do you think Evan? Should the minion Eve believe the ever so 'charming' Prince Cody?"

Evan sat there, holding his fruits, "Well, do you believe Cody? Deep down inside, do you believe what Cody said?"

"It's tough," Eve bit down gently on her lip, "Like, I don't know. I'm going to ask Jack again tonight when I see him. He invited me over his house since his parents are out of town."

"Okay now that's over with – what's this news on Maryse? I hope it's good!" Kelly smiled as she loved to hear about the news Eve had on Maryse, "Now does it consist of bad things on her because that will make it so much better!"

"You must be Maryse's biggest fan."

Eve giggled at Evan's comment before looking at the blonde, desperately waiting, "Well at her party, she got a gift from some girl named Courtney I think. Well, she gave Maryse a tape recorder with a tape of Cody telling her that he couldn't have a relationship with her after they slept together – Cody cheated on Maryse," Repeating the news she had heard, it was even more shocking the second time.

Kelly's face was simply priceless; she looked shocked, "Oh my god – are you serious?" She began to crack into bits of laughter, "Cody cheated on her? Oh, poor Maryse," She sarcastically said, "She got what she deserved if you asked me."

"I mean, how can you say that? Maryse never did anything to Cody and she just cheated on him – that's not right," Eve stood up in the defense of Maryse, "No one deserves to be cheated on and lied to like that – it just isn't right."

"Okay what are you – Maryse's new little sidekick?"

"No, but I'm just saying that your being really mean. Saying Maryse deserved it isn't right," Eve placed down her milkshake, "No matter how much I don't like someone – I'm not going to wish that she deserved something like that."

Kelly just rolled her eyes, "Well, she did deserve it. After all she's done – she deserves every bad thing coming to her," Kelly stood up, "And if you rather be her friend than mine – then so be it," She placed her milkshake down and just walked out of Eve's house.

Evan looked at her half filled cup, "You think she's going to finish the rest of her milkshake?"

"Evan."

"Listen," Evan walked over to Eve, "Kelly and Maryse's path isn't a pretty one. I'm not supposed to be telling you this but I figured you were going to find out eventually. Maryse and Kelly use to be friends – really close but all hell broke loose when they both started to like the same dude. It plays out like this – Dude meets chicks – dates both chicks without other knowing – One chick sees the other chick with dude and can you guess who was who?"

"So Kelly hates Maryse because she stole the guy she liked?" The pieces of the puzzle had fallen into place, "Everything really makes sense now. And am I bad for taking Maryse's side? I mean, Kelly's been an amazing friend to me and I basically went against her."

"Let her cool off a bit," Evan advised the brunette, "And she'll come around."

**X__x__x__x__X**

"Like, how can she not take my side? I've been a better friend to her than Maryse, showed her around school and just helped her fit in and this is how she repays me? Maybe I should just cut her off now – I don't need her or anything like that," Kelly was complaining while she sat on her sister's bed, as she prepared for a date with AJ, "I should start a rumor about her! Yes, and I can ruin her little good girl image."

Torrie turned around feeling disappointed in her sister, "Kelly – just hold up a second. Be quiet and let me tell you a story. It's almost the same exact thing that had happen to me when I first came to West Beverly."

Her memories began to resurface about the situation she was in, "When I first got her, I befriend Lita – you remember her?" She nodded in response, "Well, she hated Trish who I was friends with. Lita was talking about how Trish deserved to be hurt and I defended her. She gets mad and well, I put a scar on our friendship. I learn about what happens and I feel so bad and I eventually apologize to Lita who forgives me."

"Where's this going?"

"Well, I told myself I should have just taken Lita's side just because she was being a better friend to me than Trish was. After that, Lita and Trish didn't make up exactly. Lita blackmails Trish, everyone finds out, we isolate her, she turns to drugs, Matt saves her and we all manage to be friends all over again – the end," Torrie concluded her story, "Just don't screw this up. Eve's a sweet girl and she's one of your only friends. Don't ruin this."

"I have other friends."

"People you randomly chat with, who you don't know who they are or if they are even real – yeah, I forgot that those are good friends," Torrie joked as she sprayed some perfume on her neck, to make herself irresistible.

"Okay, I'll keep your story in mind," Kelly said as she was about to switch the subject around, "And now can you tell me who your date is? Like, I've been trying to figure out who it could be and it better be somebody cute and have a lot of money."

"I'm not a gold digger Kel," Torrie added a bracelet to her wrist, "You're going to see who it is," And the moment she said that, the door bell rang, "That's him – so could you be a sweetheart and answer the door for your sister?"

"I'm only doing it because I want to see who it is," Kelly walked out of Torrie's bedroom. She reached the door and grasped the knob and opened the door as Torrie's date was revealed. Kelly's jaw dropped to the ground when she discovered that Torrie's date was her History teacher, Mr. Styles, "Mr. Styles?"

"Hey there Kelly," He smiled, "Surprised to see me?"

"Yes because this isn't the history museum – that's down the block from here."

"Kelly," Torrie walked forward in a slick black strapless dress on, hugging the curves all over her body, "Be nice to our guests – Hey AJ."

"Now Listen Mr. Styles – Well, I can call you AJ now since we aren't in school," Kelly pointed a finger at him, "Now, if you do anything to hurt my big sister I'm afraid that I may have to punish you – by taking your manhood and removing it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Kelly!"

"Torrie, I want to make sure that you're in good hands tonight and that this man doesn't do anything silly," Kelly looked back at him who seemed to be full of giggles, "Now, behave you two and AJ – I'd like her back my 11:30 on the dot – not later than that. No 11:31. Do I make myself clear Mr. Styles?"

"Crystal," AJ smirked, "Are you ready to go Torrie?"

"I'm ready," She grabbed her purse and walked to the door, "Now, do something useful tonight. Ella and Nathan's dinners are on the stove. I want them both in bed by 8:30 – the latest."

"I'm going to be so bored tonight," Kelly groaned, "More babysitting – yes!"

"Well, you do have a five page paper due on the Civil War by tomorrow morning if I'm correct," AJ had reminded his student, "Maybe you could do that and try to be a good student by giving me a good paper."

"Mr. Styles – I said I didn't want to be bored," Kelly said, "Why would I want to do something that's going to put me to sleep even faster?"

"Be good Kelly and I'll see you later," Torrie pushed AJ out of the house and the two headed out to have a wonderful evening together, "Listen, I'm sorry about my sister. She can be a pain sometimes."

**X__x__x__x__X**

It was already 7:30 at night at the Peach Pit and Maryse was joined by Dolph – who had something up his sleeve. Normally, Mr. Ziggler had different intentions this night. As they were the only two left in the Peach Pit, Dolph had snuggled his way closer to Maryse who smirked in return, "What are you doing?" She questioned him as his hand met her thigh.

"I just want to get close – you know?" A sly smirk curved across his lips when his eyes met hers, "You want to know something?"

Her eyebrow arched up in anticipation of what he had to say, "Go – what is it?"

"Remember we met in the 6th grade – in Miss Collins class?" He reminded her, "I always sat behind you and I just thought you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Even know – even when you were with Cody, I had always though you should have been with me."

Maryse leaned over to him and smiled with her eyes, "You had a crush on me?"

"Yeah, for the past six years I always had a little thing for you – I was always jealous of Cody that he actually got you instead of me. I just wished I was him but right now – I don't wish I was him," He smirked, "I know I'm his best friend and all but I don't see why I can't take his leftovers."

"Leftovers?" He tone had changed to a more of an aggravated one, "I am no leftover and how dare you refer me to someone who is a leftover! I am Maryse and no one treats me like that," She picked herself up but only to get dragged back down by Dolph, "Don't touch me."

"I didn't mean to say that," He apologized, "You're not a leftover – you're something even better and if Cody couldn't see it then I will. I mean I see your inner beauty and how sweet and kind you are," Maryse liked to hear compliments, "And I want you. This is my chance."

"Dolph, I don't know."

"You're all that I want – nothing more," Dolph came closer to his, feeling his breath against her lips, "I want this and you know you want this to happen. Think of this as a healing over what Cody did. I'll make you feel better."

"Dolph.."

He just didn't give her a chance and he leaned in, placing a kiss on his lips. At first she was surprised but she went along with it. She wanted to stop but she wanted to continue – that made no sense but that's how she felt. He felt his hand creep up her thigh and soon reached the smooth pallets of her face. They continued and soon Dolph took control and pushed her down the couch as the two continued to kiss.

Just as the two were going at it, the door opened. In came Cody, hoping to grab something to go. Just as he was at the counter he froze as he saw his ex-girlfriend and his best friend just going at it. He didn't know how to describe how he was feeling. It was his ex-girlfriend so he could understand that she's moving on but his best friend going after her. That's something you never do to your friend.

He just didn't want to look anymore and just walked right out. He took the steps down the street and soon walked into someone who hates him. Eve was walking right before him and he came up to her. The two froze and it was just awkward. Eve scanned him up and down before trying to break the ice, "Hey."

"Hey," There one word responses just made the situation even more awkward.

"You okay?" Eve asked him as he didn't look right.

"Nothing," Cody just shrugged it off, "Everything's fine," He ran right past and just didn't turn away. He located his vehicle and got as far as possible away from the Peach Pit.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Torrie and AJ were both concluding their meal and finishing it up with a few drinks. AJ had a beer on his side while Torrie kept her fruity drink on her side, "So, you went from being on top of the fashion world to unemployed to becoming a waitress to a housewife and now a guidance counselor? You've done everything in such little time. How'd you do it?"

"I ask myself that same question," Her lips touch the straw as she took in some of her drink, "Now with the kids – I can't exactly do much. I'm lucky I've got Kelly, my parents and my friends with some help. I'd be lost without them."

"Most be tough being a single mother, huh?"

Her eyes hit the wooden table, "Yeah," a mutter escaped from her lips, "Lots of things are tough but you get through it and deal with it – one thing at a one and it will all be okay."

"I don't know if it's appropriate to ask but I never really heard what happened to your husband? I mean, I hope you don't mind because I've heard different stories going around and I want to know what it really is," AJ asked Torrie.

Surprised to hear him ask that question, Torrie looked up at him and felt that it was right just to be honest with him and straight forward. She has nothing to hide, "He's missing in action and presumed dead."

"Oh," His heart went out to the blonde, "I'm really sorry to hear that. That must be tough to hear that."

"I mean, he's been gone for over a year. They said that chances of finding him alive are really slim and they've given up hope trying to find him. Along with their hope gone, mine went by really fast too. I know he's here but he's looking down on me and my children," A slow breath escaped her lips, "Yeah, he's watching over us now."

"We don't have to talk about it if it's tough. I can see that your getting a little upset and I don't want this dinner to be about tears," His smile had lighten up the mood a bit, "So, How was your day?" The subject had turned around.

She let out a soft giggle, "What about you? I know you've gotten divorce recently. That must be tough."

"Not as tough as yours," He said, "Me and my wife were together for about four years until we decided to call it quits. Before I met her, she was just such a mess but she always says that when she met me her life just turned around. She's a sweet girl but it just wasn't working out for us. I'm still in the process of moving out too. I still have a few things over there. She actually went to West Beverly – Her name is Christy."

"Christy Hemme?"

"Yeah that's her – you know her?"

"We went to High School together," Torrie told him, "And she use to date my friends Dave and Jeff. I still remember his bright red hair. I always liked it on her. I didn't know you guys had gotten married. I knew you were but someone said her name was Cara or something."

"Nope – she's been a Christy for the past thirty one years," He joked, "She's something but I can't be with someone like her anymore."

"What happened? Like what caused you guys to get divorced?"

"It's tough to say what exactly it was. I mean, she's a beautiful and sweet girl and I really loved her but that spark we had was gone and she wanted so many other things. Ever since I could remember, she'd always want to be this big singer but it just never happened until most recently when she got a chance at his record deal. It required a lot of traveling and I would have had to go with her but I just didn't want to leave so that's when I decided to just let her go and let her do whatever she wants," AJ had revealed it all as his hand went around his cold beer and took a sip of it.

"That's how John and I ended it before. A few years ago I started the fashion line and we moved to New York and he wasn't happy. He tells me to pick him or my dream and I ended up picking my dreams instead of him. It put the biggest strain on our relationship but we managed to get through it and move on," Torrie's relation to AJ's situation created a sense of closeness between the two, "So I see how it is."

"Wow, it's weird how something similar happened to us."

Torrie smiled, "I really had a wonderful time AJ. Like, I haven't smiled this much in such a long time and this really made me feel great. I really enjoyed myself."

"I did too," He smirked, "How about we do this again another time?"

As tough as it was, it was right to continue this. She had a wonderful time and AJ's a great guy. She should really get out there and just let go of that hope she had that John would be coming back, "AJ, that sounds really good. I'd love to go out another time."

**X__x__x__x__X**

One big fat smile laid right across her face. It was a smile that could be seen for miles. It was a bit of victory and relief. She was over Cody – at least she thought she was but her feelings for him still lingered but were of the most part dead. Can that even exist? She got a little bit of revenge you can say when she hooked up with Cody's best friend last night. It was good and bad but mostly good. She got something out of it and It was the perfect way to just let her mind drift from something other than Cody.

Sitting on the steel bench and tables that was being occupied by her friends Alicia and Rosa, her smile just gloated right into their face. Rosa immediately noticed, "Someone is happy for a change. What happened to you?"

Alicia studied her look and her eyes flared up when she realized what it could have been, "Start talking – who was it?"

"You hooked up with someone?" A surprised Rosa asked, "Who is it? Don't keep us waiting!"

The French Beauty trailed her freshly manicured nails through her wavy blonde hair, "I think you all know who it is. Oh trust me," Maryse's eyes came to the very man she was about to reveal, "His eyes are staring down right onto me."

Alicia and Rosa turned their head over to who Maryse was looking over at and instantly, their jaws had just dropped, "Him?"

"Cody's best friend – Dolph?" Alicia said, "What the – when did this whole thing begin to happen? Get to details Frenchy!"

"Well yesterday Dolph and I went to the peach pit and apparently he has had this big crush on me for such a long time and one thing lead to another and he started to kiss me and I didn't stop him. I encouraged it if anything and this encouragement led to us heading back to his place and finishing the night off," The smirk on Maryse's face just screamed lust.

"Well, speak of the devil," Alicia began to tug onto Rosa, "We'll be on our way so you and your little prince charming," Alicia and Rosa soon walked away from the table just as Dolph was making his way to Maryse.

He took a seat next to Maryse and as soon as he saw her, he immediately leaned in to get a kiss only to receive Maryse's hand on his cheek, pushing him away, Can I help you?" She arrogantly asked.

"I just came in to give you a kiss – you know, after last night I just couldn't stop thinking about you. You were always on my mind and I couldn't wait to see you today. I feel like we should go for a round in my car – what do you say?" Dolph winked at her.

She started chuckling but not in a funny way but in a fake sense, "Dolph – listen, last night was just a onetime thing. You said you'd do something to make me feel better and trust me, Your healing work so I'm good now. I don't need any more healing from you."

"But what," This wasn't exactly how Dolph expected to happen, "What are you talking about? I thought that after this we could finally establish something between us two? You basically just used me."

"Well you said – you'd make me feel better and you did. You never said anything about continuing this thing we had," Maryse stood up from the bench, "So thanks Dolph – thanks for everything. Au revoir!" And that was the Last Dolph saw of Maryse before she walked off. Her heart was broken, then healed and now she had left someone else with a broken heart.

Taking her steps through the students, she felt a bit validated. Sure, she had hurt Dolph but now she was not hurting anymore. Her feelings for Cody did linger but they weren't strong as they use to have been. This is a new Maryse – a single Maryse.

**X__x__x__x__X**

It was just the girl she had been looking for. Eve Torres quickly stomped forward to the blonde getting her books at her locker. One deep breath and she stepped before her friend, following the argument they had the previous day. Thoughts scrambled through Eve's mind on how she should exactly apologize to Kelly.

Kelly had been a great friend to her since the first day since she had entered this school. Without her, Eve would have been a lost little fish in a giant sea of sharks that would have torn her apart. The Latina was grateful for Kelly's help and all she wanted was to just be friends again.

Kelly turned over to see Eve and immediately let her eyes roll, "Shouldn't you be with your little sidekick Maryse? You guys are the best of friends."

"Kelly, I came to apologize," The brunette came forward, "I'm really sorry I didn't take your side when I should have. It's just Maryse is my friend too. Evan told me about you and Maryse and I understand. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me so we can be friends again."

It was sweet of Eve to come forward – Kelly will admit that and it was just like Torrie said. Her older Sister had said that Eve would come forward and apologize and she should just accept it, "I'm sorry too – for overreacting. It's just me and Maryse don't really get along and you know why and I bet it's Evan who told you – right?"

"He explained everything to me. I didn't mean to hurt you or anything so I hope we can still be friends."

A friendly smile came across her face, "Oh I just can't be mad at forever," Kelly wrapped her arms around Eve, "You're like my best friend here other than just Evan. I can't lose you."

"So friends again?"

"Friends."

"You want to do something afterschool? Maybe more milkshakes and a movie over at my house?" Eve offered her friend, "We still have some leftover fruits."

"Oh we can finally watch that movie with Jennifer Anistion and Vince Vaughn, which I have been dying to see!"

"Sounds good," She smiled, "I'll see you later Kel – I'm going to go see Jack," And Eve just walked away, feeling much better after making up with Kelly.

After making up with her friend, Eve walked forward to the stands by the football field. She was going to meet Jack. She was definitely happy to see him. He was gone for a little while and it was going to be good just to see him again. The closer she got to the stands, the louder the voice got of the football team. As she got to the edge, she heard Jack talking and paused for a moment, listening in to her boyfriend.

"Man, I've been gone for the past few days so I still didn't get a chance to get with her," Jack told his teammate Hank, "Listen, I'll get her by today and I'm going to be one hundred dollars richer. You'll see."

"And bring proof man. Video or photos are good."

"I'll sneak that in," Jack began, "That girl is so naïve and she'll probably do anything I say. She's like a little puppy."

Unbelievable. Jack was just using her and Cody had warned her but she didn't listen. How could some go and do this? All the rage built inside of her, she just want to go over there and punch him right in the face but she didn't want any violence in this. Eve stepped forward as the teammates slowly began to stop laughing when they discovered Eve, walking forward.

"Hey Babe," He walked over and tried to put his arm around her waist which Eve just slapped away, "Oh feisty are we? I know something that can make you a little more relaxed if you know what I mean."

"You're a pig!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard the whole thing Jack," The Latina shouted, "How I'm just a little bet. How can you just use me like that? I'm done with you and I never want to see you again – ever!" Jack had suddenly grabbed her and tried to pull her back, "Let me go!"

"Not a chance."

The fury had built up inside of her and it was all going to be shown with the force of her hand striking the man's face. Her palm went straight across his face, smacking the wind of out him as she walked away from him in total fury.

Tears came into play as Eve trampled away. Reasons why he would do something like this was something she just couldn't figure out. What was it with guys or was it that she was the problem and not Jack? Did she do something wrong? She didn't even want to think about it anymore.

Without noticing him, she walked by Cody who noticed Eve and noticed that she was in distraught, "Eve – Is there something wrong?"

She turned to him and paused as she looked at him. Not wanting to see her tears, she took her head down and didn't look him in the eyes, "Nothing. Everything's fine."

He walked up over to her and put his arm on her shoulder, "Eve, your crying. Why are you crying?"

Her vibrant eyes looked right into his dark ones and she looked no more when her face collapsed right into his chest and her arms traveled around his chest. Cody, a little confused, didn't know what to do but he put his arms around her and held her tightly.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He requested, "Because I've never seen you cry before – especially like this."

"You were right about Jack," She mumbled trough his chest, "You were right about the whole thing and I didn't believe you. I'm such an idiot. I wouldn't be hurt like this if I had just believed you but I didn't."

"Shh – it's going to be alright," He cooed her as her tears continued to roll. As Eve laid in her arms, he could feel the sudden heart beating through his chest. There she finally felt safe and felt as if someone cared about her. Jack and her was over and to think Jack and herself had some sort of change. That Forever is _definitely_ over.

* * *

**A/N:** So Happy to finally update. I had a chance today since - again - we're getting pounded with snow! I think we're suppose to get like 15 inches! :D so snow = updates from me :) Please take some time and review! They are slowly decreasing every chapter. Thanks for reading!


	5. Surprise, Surprise!

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Five_ - Surprise, Surprise!

Chattering filled the hallways just as the huge poster promoting homecoming was being posted up. The Homecoming dance was this Friday – two days away and the large flashy promotional poster was posted up by room 113. Other than the time and location, the nominees for Homecoming King and Queen were posted up.

Two girls – who were not nominees, watched the crowd gather around the poster to see who was nominated. Eve seemed happy but Kelly was just oddly annoyed, "It's Homecoming again – and everyone's dying to know who got nominated when we all know who's going to be nominated."

Eve slowly snapped her neck to her, "How do you know who's going to be nominated? They may surprise you."

"I'll list my predictions now – For Queen, we'll see Angelina Love, Maryse Quellet and Rosa Mendes and for guys we'll see Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler and Alex Shelly," She made a prediction, "And this prediction will be right – just you wait and see."

As they made their way forward closer to the poster – the two discovered the nominees. For Queen, Kelly had made the correct prediction but for King, she was just slightly off. For King, Kelly forgot to say that instead of Alex Shelly, it was Zack Ryder, "Well, you were almost right Kelly – your just one person wrong."

"That's impossible – my predictions are never wrong," Kelly's eyes hit the poster, studying each of the nominees carefully and soon discovered that her prediction wasn't exactly right, "You have got to be kidding me? Now, I owe Evan twenty bucks too."

"You betted on this?"

"Yeah, I told Evan I would guess who all the nominees were and now look – I'm completely wrong," A disgruntle Kelly muttered through her lips, "But I don't understand why anyone would have nominated Zack Ryder – I mean, he's not in any of their leagues. But, he won't win. The odds are against him."

"I'll vote for Cody – I think he'd make a good king," Her smile had said it all and Kelly looked at her as a smile grew on her face. Eve, getting a little freaked out, gave Kelly a weird look, "Why are you smiling at me? It's kind of creepy."

"You like Cody – again, don't you?"

"Not again."

"So you never stopped liking him even though you were with Jack? Interesting Eve," Kelly nodded slowly, "And now you're hoping he asks you to the dance and he'll become King and you'll be his queen."

"Stop," She sued her lips shut with a bright smile before opening them up again, "Sure, I'd like to go to homecoming with him but I don't know. Something's telling me not to do it but I'm still going."

"Maybe he will – remember how he made you feel better about the breakup with you and Jack? I think he's going to ask you and you better say yes and don't let this 'person' telling you not to do it stop you from doing it," The Blonde smiled, "Homecoming is suppose to be fun."

"I'm guessing you have had some good times there."

"Well, freshmen year was a lot of fun. It was so much fun," She reminisced while a smile came across her face before it slowly faded away, "Last year's wasn't that great – It involved a certain someone doing something really bad to be and I think you know who it was."

It was at Last year's homecoming when Kelly and Maryse had their huge blowout. Eve nodded, "Well, I know last year was bad but think about the one before that. You had so much fun so maybe this one will be fun. I'm going to go and I think Evan is going too. I really hope you come around and decide to come."

"I'll think about it," The blonde promised, "I've got to get to class – I'll see you at Lunch," Kelly walked off from Eve, as the two went their separate ways.

Focusing on a presentation that she had to do for class in a few minutes, she lost track of where she was going. Not observing anyone in front of her but just thinking about how to present the different battles of World War II in the matter of ten minutes. If she didn't, she'd fail. Taking long steps forwards, she crushed someone's toe when she stepped directly on it, causing the figure to jump in pain, "OUCH!!"

Snapping out of her trance, she looked at the victim, "I'm so sorry," Her hand gently grasped his shoulder before he turned around, coming face to face to him, "Evan, I'm really sorry."

His face still screamed pain but it seemed to be manageable, "It's okay – it's only a little pain on my big toe but damn Kel – where the hell are you marching off to like that? I hope no one is lying on the floor when you come rolling by."

"I have this huge presentation," A sharp screech tumbled through her lips, "And if I mess up, I'll fail big time."

"You'll do fine. I've seen you talk in front of a lot of people and you're going to be just fine. You have that natural charisma you've got so why worry?"

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

"And I've been meaning to ask you something," And the moment had arrived for young Evan Bourne. Something on his mind had been growing and it involved Kelly, "Like, I know how you feel about homecoming and all but I'm really hoping you can see through that. I've been meaning to ask you if you'd like to go with me – you know, just as friends."

"You want me to be your homecoming date?"

"I think that's what I asked," Rewinding back to a few seconds prior, he had to make sure he got this right. He'd been practicing in front of his bathroom mirror earlier, hoping to come out with the right question and no trace of being nervous, "That's what I asked."

She took a moment to think about it and eventually came to a decision, "Evan, I'd love to go with you."

"Really?" This boy just felt like a thousand bucks. After being unsuccessful last year in getting a date to any dance, he finally got one and couldn't have picked a better choice, "Okay – I'll see you at the dance," He turned around only to turn right back around, "Also, I want that article about the school's cafeteria on my food by Friday.

"You got it."

He began to walk backwards before falling over a trash can knocking it over. Kelly erupted into giggles as Evan stood himself up, wiped of any dirt and continued to walked backwards into the halls.

"Now, what was that all about?" Someone said right into her ear, causing her to jump up.

"Torrie!" She squealed, titling around to face her sister eye to eye, "You're an adult and still scaring your younger sister. What kind of Monster are you?"

"Oh it's a little practical joke," Torrie smiled, "Now, spill the beans. Was I just listening in on Evan asking you to the homecoming dance?"

"You're so nosy," She turned her heel and walked away from her older sister, in hopes of making it to class in time.

"That's what big sisters are for."

**X__x__x__x__X**

On her much anticipated afternoon break, Dawn had her cup of coffee in one hand while keeping a cigarette between her thin fingers. It was sip, pull from cigarette and blow and it would repeat as usual. Smoking wasn't allowed on school grounds so she was hiding over in the teacher's parking lot.

She'd never smoke before. She wasn't addicted to it but she just liked to have a cigarette sometimes when she was under a large amount of stress and today was one of those days. She was once married before and now her ex-husband was having a child with his new wife. Any mention of him and the pain would just all come racing right back to her. Her cigarette was one of those remedies that would just take everything away.

The rumble of door opening brought Dawn into action to toss her cigarette to the ground and quickly stomped on it – postponing it from producing anymore smoke. Snapping her head back, she her eyes met the eyes of Gym Teacher and Coach Randy Orton coming out, "Oh, I thought you were Stephanie or someone else."

He smiled, "Nope, just me. I won't do no harm," He placed his hands up, "And I won't mention anything about to anyone. They'll get mad and might fire you for it," He walked over to her and leaned against the wall next to her, "I've never seen you smoke."

"I usually don't. I just have a bit of stress under me and this little guy," Her eyes met the ground where he burnt out cigarette laid, "Well, he helps keep me calm and relaxed when trouble arises for me."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's the trouble that's going on? You don't have to tell me – it's up to you. I just want to see if I can help."

"Well, my ex-husband and his new wife are having a baby and it just kills me – not that I still love him or anything it just reminds me that I have nobody," A heart shattered Dawn answered, "I want him to move on and have his life but I want the same to happen to me but it's so complicated than that because I want to have someone but then I don't."

"I see where your coming from," The gym teacher closed his arms together, "You want to be with someone but you fear you'll get hurt again so that's what's keeping you from staying with someone. I had something similar to that happen to me and my wife. We separated but I could just never move on. I still loved her and I didn't want to let her go but in your situation, I think it's time you let go."

"But how? How do I let it go? I can't just let it go just like that – it's way too complicated than that."

"I think you just need to get rid of everything that reminds you of him. Pictures, gifts and even clothes."

She dug into her pocket to pull out her lighter, "This was his lighter and I found it back at my home. Do I even have to get rid of it too?" Holding up to him, "Well, there's his first initial and mine righ next to it – with the words, forever."

"Throw it away."

Dawn clutched her palm and looked out into the distance and she launched the lighter, far away enough that she will not see it ever again. Getting relaxed, she rested her arm down and smiled. It actually did work a little. She could feel him just moving away from him and that's what she wanted.

"I actually do feel – validated."

"See," Randy smiled as his placed his hand on her shoulder, "You'll find the strength in you to get through it. It's going to take time and you just have to be dedicated to get yourself back."

"Thanks," Back off the wall, she took a few steps forward, "That was something I just really needed."

"Guys know a thing or two about relationships. We are not all brainless and no nothing about women," Joked Randy, "But I was glad to help. You're a strong woman and I can see it. You'll get through this."

"Thanks again Randy," Dawn muttered away when she took her foot and walked off from Randy.

**X__x__x__x__X**

The confidence radiated off of her like the rays of the sun. Maryse was a nominee for Homecoming Queen – she didn't exactly expect it – well, she actually did. The French Beauty was a favorite to win the crown but she had some tough competition from Angelina Love – another queen bee in the school and even her own friend Rosa didn't stand a chance to her but she was going to keep that hidden deep down inside.

Fellow nominee Rosa stood before her, glancing at the picture that had been posted, "They really picked a good picture of me. My hair looked great and thanks to mom, I got the best makeup artist to highlight all my beautiful features."

"Yeah – okay," The arrogance was visible in her tone when she rolled her eyes, "I can't stand to look at Angelina's picture. It's just so disgusting. Her makeup looks terrible, those highlights look like melted chocolate sinking into her hair. It's just purely disgusting."

"Maryse."

"And her sense of clothing? Can you say Trailer trash? She, Velvet and Madison just look like three bums walking out of the sleazy trailer park. They think there top of the line but they are at the bottom like a pile of garbage. I think the name of their trailer park is called the City Dump," She believed her comments were priceless and softly giggled away.

"Maryse, you should turn around."

She read Rosa's eyes and her expression seemed to spell disaster. Maryse slowly turned around as her eyes met the crystal blue ones. Those blue sparking orbs belonged to Angelina Love, "Hello Angelina."

"Talking Trash as usual Frenchy?" Angelina crossed her arms and stood in a strong position as two blondes joined her, coming at each side – Velvet on her right and Madison on her left, "It's Queen Maryse everyone – let us all bow down to her," She said with a smug look going from cheek to cheek.

Angelina was just like Maryse but yet the two of them hated one another. It was odd but when two personalities like that crash, an explosion ensures. Angelina acted like Maryse, was arrogant like her and liked everything Maryse liked but yet they still hated one another. They could have been the best of friends but that never happened. Two other blondes took a place that everyone believed would have been Maryse's.

Velvet Sky whose real name is Taila Madison was Angelina's right hand girl. They were a duo – a duo just full of trouble. The two were practically raised together – side by side – bottle by bottle. She was smart girl even behind those brown locks with highlighted blonde streaks. She was not a joke and should always be taken seriously because this girl is one step below Angelina.

Madison on the other hand was fresh meat to the group. Over the summer, she had slivered her way into the group, doing some of the most outrageous stunts but soon earned their trust. Her sly ways just made her perfect to join the group and Velvet and Angelina were fast to except her.

They did have a name that'd they refer themselves too. They were called the Beautiful People – on the outside but not really in the inside.

"Well soon you will be bowing down to me when they take that crown and put it right on this beautiful head of mine – where it really belongs," She patted her head softly, "My head is cold now but once I get that crown, it will be extra warm."

"Well, your head is going to be cold for a little while longer," Velvet had stepped in defense of her best friend, "Because that crown is coming over to us, where it really belongs. Not over that heavily dyed hair of yours."

"Maryse, face it –your just not going to win. This year isn't a Maryse year," Madison attempted to insult her but it really didn't affect her, "The crown is going to be property of Angelina and you'll see that tomorrow night."

"Fiez-vous à moi, vous ne gagnerez pas. Sur mon mort que la couronne vous vient des gars," Maryse's French was so important to her when it came time to making rude comments to people. It would just keep every guessing about what she said, "So I'll see you tomorrow Angelina and you can watch me receive my crown that has my name on it."

"We'll see about that," was Angelina's last words before the three of them crossed through Maryse and Rosa, shoving them lightly hoping to leave them scared or frighten.

"If they win, I'm going to rip my hair out."

Just as they left, Cody arrived to the Poster seeing that he had been nominated and his eyes had quickly came to his ex-girlfriend, Maryse. He swallowed quickly while the gulp went down his throat, "Queen Nominee? I think you'll get it this year."

"Thanks," Her hand reached the top of her scalp as she gently pulled back her soft blonde hair, "And I think you'll win King this year."

There was something Cody just had to get off his chest. Maryse went through a lot of crap after his big mistake and he owed her an apology. As much as to fall out of love with her, he cheated and it wasn't right no matter what the situation was.

"I was hoping to talk to you about something."

Her recent threaded eyebrow shot up like a bullet from a gun when Cody said those words, "Well then go right ahead," She had said while Rosa stood behind her, "What do you have to talk to me about?"

As the moment arrived, he took a deep sigh and looked over at Maryse, "I don't think I ever took the time to apologize for what I had done to you. I don't know what came over me but that doesn't excuse my actions. I just really didn't feel the same for you as I use too. You're a great girl and the time we shared was a lot of fun."

"You just took my heart and broke it in half – and what hurt the most was I heard it from Courtney and not from you. If you wanted to call it quits, you should have just told me. I would have understood," She revealed to him.

"I know – you're absolutely right. I wish I had never done that to you but it happened and I can't take it back. All I can ask for is forgiveness from you. I just want us to be cool again and hope to still manage to be friends."

It touched her a little that through it all, Cody still wanted to build a friendship between the two. It was time to just release whatever the past had held and look out into the future. Forgiveness was the first step, "You can consider your apology accepted."

He was surprised – usually Maryse would hold a grudge and wouldn't exactly be so easy to just let it all go, "Thanks for accepting my apology – I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Well of course! I've got a crown that I have to take home with me," Maryse smirked at Cody before she turned away and walked down the West Beverly hallway.

Cody turned back and began to walk to his football practice. He felt cleansed after it all. He didn't like when someone was upset with him. He hated knowing that someone was mad at him. All he wanted was to make it right. Strolling down the hallway, he felt the wind pass by him and the man creating it knocking him over to the ground.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry loser," The thick and strong voice of Ted DiBaise ringed through his ears, "Better watch where you're going next time," He too was in a rush – rush to get to football practice that Cody had too.

"Don't be such an ass about the whole thing," He said as he stood up on his two feet to look at his fellow teammate.

"What are you going to do Cody? Nothing," His husky voice blurted out, "And I'm not going to be late again – you're crazy if you think I'm going to run laps again," And he ran down before Cody could say anything.

"What an ass."

"Took those words right out of my mouth," The sweet voice belonged to New West Beverly student, Eve Torres, "That guy ain't much of a charmer," Eve giggled softly taking steps closer to Cody.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Cody lips curved into a smile, "An education is important Miss Torres."

"I should be asking you the same thing," The Latina flashed a wink, "Mr. Reyes didn't come in today so they let us go a little bit early. I'm just hear roaming the halls, trying to find a little something to do. Kelly and Evan are still in class."

"Do you football?"

"I thought I had clarify that before."

"How'd you like to come see me practice? I'm doing some drills and you can see just how hard I work," He placed some emphasis on the word hard, "and all the crap I get put through every football season. Would your eyes like to be graced by my athletic talent?"

"That doesn't sound too bad," She commented, "I have to go dress shopping after school. I want to get the best dress I can get for homecoming tomorrow night. I hope you're going tomorrow night."

"Of course I'll be there – I'm a nominee."

"And I think you're going to win," She smiled but was Cody going to win more than just a crown?

**X__x__x__x__X**

Maryse wasn't going cheap with her homecoming dress – that's for sure. Right on Rodeo Drive, Maryse scrambled through the wide selection of dresses – both short and long, revealing and even more revealing and just couldn't come across the perfect dress. Spending the past hour in here, absolutely nothing stood out to her.

This future homecoming queen needed a dress to go nicely with the sparkling crown that would be resting on her head in the matter of twenty four hours. Over her dead body was she going to have if Angelina win that crown.

The sound of the hangers crashing into one another rang through the store. The French Canadian would quickly rummage through the selection of clothes causing some to stare. All she did was simply shrug it off and go on with her business.

A sudden vibration rumbled through her purse. Digging into the pit called her purse, she pulled out her phone to check the text message she received. It had been a message from Alicia, _"Dinner at 6? Followed by Cocktails? You in?." _Reading it – it hadn't exactly been ideal to her but she agreed with a simple _"Sure"_ and went back to shopping.

Her hand reached for a hanger and pulled out the dress. Her eyes gazed upon the black dress with a layered skirt and a red box on the side. The essence of the dress just took her by surprise and she loved how it was styled. She was pretty confident that she found the right dress she was looking for.

"Finally, I found you," Her hand reached for the price tag and she noticed it was going to cost her a lot of money but that won't scare her from getting it.

Confidence was seen in her walk as she headed to the cash register only to bump into a familiar face, "Eve?"

The Latina responded with a smile, "Oh – I see your dress shopping here too," Eve's eyes met the blonde's new dress, "Wow, your dress is beautiful."

"Well, I'm going to need a beautiful dress to match that crown I am going to get tomorrow night. It's going to go just perfect with my new dress and then I'm going to rub it into Angelina's face."

"Someone's certainly confident that they are going to win. You got my vote."

As Maryse didn't want to waste much time, she decided to have a little chat with Eve, "So you're going to buy your dress here too?"

"Oh no – I've only been looking around," Unlike Maryse, Eve can't exactly get whatever she wants no matter how high the numbers are on the price tag, "They have some of the nicest dresses but I can't afford them – especially one I saw which I loved. It was just so perfect and it was the last one left and it was my size. I'll find another one I suppose."

"Which one?"

"That pink one over there – I instantly fell in love with it but not that price."

She was about to do something no one would expect Maryse to do, "Go get the dress and come to the register."

Shock waves hit Eve and she couldn't exactly come to the truth that Maryse just told her to get the dress she wanted, "Maryse, I can't let you just pay for my dress like that. It's not right and you really don't have too. I'll get another one somewhere else."

"Eve – let me just do this for you. I mean, you've been a good friend to me and you just had a bad break up so just think of this as my little gift and it's no big deal for me. Go get the dress," Maryse had told her and she meant it.

"Really? It's no problem at all? It's almost a thousand dollars."

"My Dad only gets mad if I spend over 20,000 dollars in one day. This is like giving him a break in his opinion."

A joyful smile splurged on her face as she turned back around to get the dress. For Maryse, this action had felt good for the blonde. She had no idea what had come across of her but she felt it was something she had to do, "Eve," Maryse called her once more as the Latina turned right back around, "You want to go get something to eat after this? Peach Pit?"

Eve nodded, "That sounds great – If you're not busy doing anything else?"

"Nope," Her previous engagement had went down the drain, "I'm free."

**X__x__x__x__X**

An odd feeling came over the leggy blonde as she sat on the outside table of the peach pit – awaiting for her best friend to arrive. Stacy had finally gotten a chance to get out of her house and just go out and enjoy herself for a few hours. Being a mother was certainly not a stroll in the park and any chance to take a break was not taken for granted. Escaping her home was something every person needs to do sometimes.

The breeze coming from the south had gently brushed her hair back as she glanced at the menu before her. If there's one thing she loved from the Peach Pit, it was there grilled chicken sandwiches – ones she'd die for. With her friend running late, she could possible die from starvation.

Through the side opening, Torrie stepped on in and immediately found the glistening smile on Stacy Keibler's face, "I'm sorry so that I'm late," Torre dropped her brown purse on the ground before taking the seat across from Stacy, "I had to help set up for the homecoming dance tonight. Some of those kids know nothing about working together."

"You signed up to deal with them – so deal with them," Her smile turned into a playful giggle, "And I was sitting her wondering what was taking you so long."

"It won't happen next time," Said Torrie as her menu soon covered her face gazing at the menu, "I feel like this menu has changed so much over the past years. They took off so many good burgers and they screwed up the whole breakfast menu."

"The Peach Pit isn't like what we had back in high school but it will do," Stacy graciously sipped on her water before she was about to integrate Torrie, "Now – I haven't been able to talk to you in such a long time that I never got any details from your little date that you had. Start talking."

She quickly recollected the memories of her date with AJ and the memorable night, "We had a good time – he's a really sweet guy and I think I might continue seeing him."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm really serious. It's time to just move on and let go of any hope that John is going to come back home. I know he would want me to move on and continue living my life," It was the first time she had ever said that to a friend, "I'm ready to move on."

"I'm proud of you," Stacy nudged her legs together, "I want you to be happy and you're still young and you may find someone really amazing."

"AJ is really amazing. He had a good heart, he's divorced now," Torrie took a moment to flip her hair back, "He was actually married to Christy Hemme. Remember her? She use to date Dave and Jeff way back then."

"Randy, Adam and John too," Stacy informed her, "She date Randy in the beginning 9th grade, dated John in the end of 10th grade and had her fun with Adam five years ago. That girl just made her rounds through everyone. I'm surprised she hasn't run out of guys and started going to girls."

Laughter filled the air between Torrie and Stacy before Torrie started speaking once more, "It's weird because he broke up with her because she wanted things he didn't and something like that had happen to John and I a few years ago."

"Maybe this is a sign – that maybe you two should be together."

"I'm not ready to jump to conclusions just yet and believe that we are made for one another," A moment of silence came across the two before Torrie began to speak once more, "I take it like I take every day, take it easy and take my time."

**X__x__x__x__X**

The night had finally arrived. Homecoming Dance was hear along with the crowds of students slowly beginning to fill up the gym while a few stood outside. Kelly stepped out of her taxi. As she revealed herself, she came out in a baby blue strapless dress that just ended above her knees with Golden Sandal high heels. For a moment, she really felt like a princess being all dressed up like this.

As the taxi pulled away, Kelly looked over at the parking lot and saw a familiar car with a familiar face inside of it. Skipping over quickly, she had found someone very special talking to someone else.

"Here's your cut Ted," He handed him a white envelope to the student, "I'll see you next week."

"You got a visitor, Phil," Ted pointed toward the back of him before he jogged off.

Phil turned around and saw the stunning blonde standing before him, "Hey – didn't think I'd be seeing you here. You're going to the dance?"

"Yeah – I even have a date for the dance."

"A date?"

"Listen, you still have Maria so I'm aloud to do this too you know," Kelly smiled at him, "And what are you doing here and why were you talking to that kid Ted? You handed him some envelope – why?"

Phil Brooks didn't know what to say except come up with something we all use in our lives – a lie, "It's just some money I owe him. Ted and I got into a little bang up and I scratched his car so I owed him some money and owe him a little more."

"I was wondering what you were even doing here."

A smirk came across his lips, "Listen, Maria's gone for the day – she went to Malibu to go see her parents so I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come over and we can spend the night together?"

"Punk, I mean – I'm not sure," She was Evan's date and she couldn't exactly just abandon him like that. It wasn't right, "I have a date tonight and I really want to go. I can't just leave Evan like that."

"I know you and Evan are friends but we haven't spent time together in a week and I really miss you. This is our chance babe," He leaned over and opened the door for her, "I really missed you and I want to be with you Babe."

How could see decide over that someone she loved and hurting someone she cared for? Her mind told her to go to Evan but her heart was being more gravitated toward Punk. This was so hard. Evan was one of her best friends but she loved Punk – she was in love with him and didn't want to ruin what she had with him. She stepped forward into the running vehicle and Punk smiled right down to her.

"I'm glad you decided to come with me."

She smiled just to show him that she was happy but she really wasn't. If she hadn't been happy here, why did she decide to go? As Punk drove away, Kelly took her phone and quickly wrote a message to Evan, explaining why she couldn't make it.

"_Still home - Family Emergency. Can't make it tonight. I'll make it up to you – Kel."_

Shutting her phone, her eyes glanced out the window to see West Beverly as the remainder of the Students began to arrive to enjoy the homecoming dance.

**X__x__x__x__X**

West Beverly will only get the best DJ in town and they weren't lying. DJ was spinning a few records and currently on the track was Lady GaGa's Bad Romance blaring trough the speakers with a bit more of a jumpy beat. Eve stepped into the decorated Gymnasium and her eyes at just sparkled up because it was just extremely beautiful.

Back in Denver, she never had something like this. Sure, she did have a homecoming dance but nothing compared to this. What made this even better was she had the perfect Pink dress on – thanks to Maryse of course with Black pumps and silver stud earrings as well that went nicely with her Straightened hair.

The first thing she saw was Evan, standing before punch table staring directly at his phone resting in his palm. Eve stepped closer to the young man, "Evan – is there something wrong? You look really upset."

Evan turned to Eve and his facial expression just told her something was wrong. Evan's lips opened up briefly as he was about to speak, "Kelly can't make it tonight. Some Family emergency."

"Aw," The brunette placed her hand on his shoulder as a sign of support, "I know you were really looking forward to tonight. There's always going to be other dances too."

"Yeah," He muttered softly while he slid his phone right into his pocket, "And I was really excited about tonight. That's all I could have thought of since I asked her and now it just went to nothing. Nothing ever goes my way."

A curious Eve bit down on her lip as questions rose up in her mind on why Evan was looking forward to this, "Looking forward to it? Why were you looking forward to it so much – I mean, you and Kelly are just friends?"

Evan shot up an eyebrow and he saw where Eve was going to go with this but he wasn't going to let that happen just yet, "Eve, it's not what you think," He slowly began to walk away and Eve couldn't help but smile, "And stop smirking at me like that."

Eve giggled and knew whatever Evan was hiding would come out eventually. As for Evan, he didn't want to think about it right now. All his mind was saying was get out and as he made his way to the entrance he bumped into Ted, who was fixing up his motorbike. As he walked by him, he remembered he had to ask him for something concerning his article for the channel.

"Ted – don't mean to bother you or anything," He paused for a moment before Ted turned right back around and faced him, "That article you wrote, the one of the school cafeteria's food has to proof read before you leave it with me."

Ted never really cared for the West Beverly Pawprint – the name of the newspaper and he wasn't going to be blamed for anything he didn't do, "Dude, that wasn't my assignment. That was somebody else's."

"Then who is it?"

Ted thought for a moment before the face of the person came to is mind as he had just seen her a little bit earlier, "I just saw her – it was Kelly's job."

He digested the words and when Ted stated he had just seen her, he scratched his head, "You just saw her? She's not even here."

"No she was here – went into some dude's car or something," Ted tossed on her helmet and hopped on his bike, "See ya dude," Ted revved up his motorbike before sprinting out of the Student Parking lot.

The aspiring Reporter stood outside the entrance lost in trance. Kelly was here but went somewhere else? There was nothing about this that didn't sound fishy and Evan was even more devastated. This obviously meant that Kelly had other plans and it didn't involve him.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Maryse, along with Alicia and Rosa stood by the mini bar – where they served anything but alcoholic drinks but you're in a school and shouldn't expect much from it. Her lips touched the red straw as she sucked up whatever was left of her cranberry juice. Maryse released a sigh as she placed her drink down, "I can't wait for them to tell the crowd 'Your Homecoming Queen is' and a point of sudden pause to keep everyone on the edge of their feet and finish it off by saying 'Maryse!' and then I came to the stage, look at Angelina and laugh at her and live happily ever after."

"This isn't any fairytale," Alicia muttered, "All I know, if you win – Angelina is going to want to come after us and I am out of here the moment I hear or see anything coming from her."

"Angelina, Velvet and Madison can do whatever they want," The French Canadian huffed out a small laugh, "I am not at all intimidated by any of those three. Madison's just a loser, Velvet is Angelina's little Dog and Angelina is the pathetic 'leader' of the trio. Puhlease."

"Well, here they come," Rosa's vibrant brown eyes came onto Angelina Love, Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne, all dress in similar red dresses.

"Look Velvet and Madison, it's the soon to be loser Maryse," Said the leader of the Beautiful People adding a little accent to Maryse's name, "First, we've got Alicia – Who had hair like a dog. Then we have Rosaaa!" Adding the little latin spice to her name," Maryse's little dog and then we have her – Maryse, the most hideous thing to EVER come out of Beverly Hills," The trio began to clap softly, "You guys looks like you came straight of Los Angeles's dump!"

Maryse simply rolled her eyes, "The Dump? We didn't come from there – I mean if we did, you would have seen us walking out through your legs earlier today."

Alicia and Rosa immediately began to laugh much to the displeasure of Angelina and the other Beautiful People. Velvet stepped forward in Angelina's defense, "Make all your jokes Maryse – we'll be the ones laughing when we see you with nothing. Nothing but the two skanks you walked in with."

"Let's not speak about skanks Velvet – we all know what you did in those locker rooms and they definitely make you a skank," Alicia fired back in Maryse's defense.

"Ahem!"

The six of them turned to the stage where Randy Orton and Torrie Wilson – faculty Members at school were just about ready to present the King and Queen award, "Can I get everyone's attention? It's just about time we present the Homecoming King and Queen crowns. We've tallied your votes and the results are in. For King, we have a clear cut winner and as for Queen, it was a very close race but we have one winner."

"You're going down Maryse," Angelina muttered to her competition.

"Over my dead body Love," She stroked back with a comment, "That crown has my name on it."

"I guess we'll present the Homecoming Queen first as I see two of our nominees ready to kill me if I don't read the winner," Randy torn open the letter and his eyes discovered the winner, "You're homecoming queen is..."

"Please be me!" Maryse was saying to herself with her fingers crossed.

"Maryse Quellet!"

She kept her composed for a moment before bursting out in laughter and smiles while she glanced at the competition, Angelina Love, who had lost. Maryse pouted her lips at the Blonde, rubbing her eyes just to get her enticed. Her friends were supportive along with the crowd clapping for her. Maryse graciously entered the Stage as Randy placed the crown on her head, where it belonged all this time.

Torrie stepped forward to the Microphone and was prepared to announce the king. The nominees stood forward and looked at the stage, "And your King is," Torrie ripped open the envelope and looked at the name, Zack Ryder!"

Maryse's smile turned directly into a frown. Cody wasn't that upset and neither was Dolph but Zack was feeling on top of the world. He jumped up in absolute excitement as he began to make his way to the stage. The crowd cheered him on in a mixed of claps and laughter. Inside of the minds of everyone else, this was all a joke but for him, it wasn't.

He got onto the stage and accepted his crown, "I present you – you Homecoming King and Queen," Torrie announced before she and Randy exited the stage.

Maryse turned to Zack – and his smile that you couldn't wipe off. He made the step forward getting closer to her on the stage. The Beautiful people loved this. Angelina's laughter ringed through Maryse's ears.

"Every King deserves a kiss," Zack took a hold of Maryse and planted a big watery kiss on her. With all her might, she couldn't get him off till he released, "So how was that my Queen?"

Using her hand, she wiped off any slobber or spit that came from him. She looked into this eyes and saw how he found this very pleasing. All her anger charged into the palm of her hand when she gravitated it and slapped Zack right across the cheek. She gave him one last looks before she charged out of the gym with Alicia and Rosa following right behind her.

Eve witness the event and to say the least, she was really surprised at what had happened. She'd never expect anyone like her to be completed humiliated. The music slowly came back on, in a slow form. Taylor Swift's Love Story slowly began play as a few couples gathered around the dance floor.

Her brown orbs looked at the large amount of couples gathering around the dance floor. She even spotted Jack with a new girl this time. She wished we had a real relationship. Cody walked over to the brunette, who's eyes were still glued on the dance floor, "You look like you just want to be out there."

"I really do."

He placed his hand in front of her as she looked down at his palm, "Would you do this man a favor and share a dance with him?"

She clutched his palm with hers and nodded, "I'd love too," Cody carefully led her onto the dance floor. He placed his hands right at her waist line while Eve wrapped her arms around his neck. Her orbs just connected with his orbs and the sparks just began to fly, "Not bad Cody – your quiet the dancer."

"I am quiet talented. I'm a good dancer, I'm a great football player, I charm the ladies."

"Don't get a ahead of yourself now," A fluttery feeling came across Eve. It was those dang butterflies flying around in here, "So, on a scale of one to ten, how devastated were you when you heard Zack beat you out for the title of Homecoming King?"

"I was just devastated," The sarcasm ringed through his voice as did his humor, "When I heard his name, I was shocked. I thought I was going to have a heart attack if they didn't put that crown on me – I prepared my head all week just to make room for it."

"You're sounding like Maryse."

"You don't say?"

"She was telling me yesterday how she had found the perfect dress to go with the crown she'd win. She won the crown but that little aftermath wasn't exactly perfect," Eve broke into a light giggle, "She got what she wanted."

"I think I'm looking at the real Queen. Why weren't you nominated?"

"I don't know. Maybe they saw me as a big threat."

"If you had won, I think I would definitely would want to win and maybe at the end the queen has to give something to the King – you know Zack got his so I would get some too right?" Just like Eve, his stomach began to fill up with Butterflies. Eve looked stunning that evening. The Latina was sweet, kind and caring. Just like a girl he'd be looking for.

"Maybe you don't have to be king?"

"And Maybe you don't have to be Queen?"

Just as the two were getting even closer and enjoying their dance together, Maryse stepped back into the Gym to find her ex-boyfriend and the new student, Cody and Eve getting much closer. She wasn't stupid and could sense those two getting much closer. The sparks flying between the two of them were crazy. She had a plan – a plan to keep her eye on those two. She wouldn't want anything to happen would she now?

**X__x__x__x__X**

Later that Evening, Torrie was quietly putting Nathan to sleep but was still having some trouble with Ella. Ella had always been a bit of a crier of the two. Plotting her behind on the couch, she slowly began to rock Ella to sleep but this girl wasn't nudging, "Come on Ell, don't you want to go to sleep?"

Just when she was about to give up, the doorbell rang. Holding onto Ella, she went to the door. Grasping the door knob, she pulled it open and was just surprised to see who was at the door for her.

"Oh My God."

Apparently, there seems to be surprises everywhere these days.

* * *

A/N: Finally got a chance to update. Best chapter i've written so far, in my opinion. Reviews are decreasing a bit so please review. Makes me feel good.  
Two quick questions i'd appreciate if you'd answer: How do you feel about Cody/Eve & Evan/Kelly pairings?


	6. So Close, So Far

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Six_ - So Close, So Far

"Oh My God!"

"What – are these the flowers you don't like?"

Her eyes got a close up of the bright yellow daisies that were being presented right before her. They were in the hands someone pretty special to her, "They are absolutely beautiful. They are my favorites."

"Thank God!" AJ sighed, "I was so worried you weren't going to like them or anything."

"I love flowers – all kind of flowers but these are my favorites," Torrie welcomed the man who had presented the flower to her into her home, "I'd hold the flowers but I'm in the middle of holding Ella. I'll grab a vase you can put them into for me."

As AJ walked in, the smell of dirty diapers and baby wipes just filled up his nostrils, "Quiet the pleasant smell in here."

AJ placed the flowers on the coffee table as he and Torrie took a seat on the white couch in the living room. Torrie placed Ella on her lap with the baby wrapping her small hands around Torrie's large ones, "I'm so sorry – this place is an absolute mess. If I knew you were going to stop by, I'd clean this place up. I always say I'll get to it but it never happens."

"It's tough being a single mother – you can't do everything," AJ's eyes met the bright blue ones belonging to Ella Cena, "And I bet this one keeps you busy – right Ella?" He extended his finger, lightly tickling the child's stomach.

"Getting Nathan to sleep is a breeze – this one is like going to war," The Blonde smiled down at her daughter, "But what can you do?"

"She looks like you."

"Really?" A comment like that rarely happened between Torrie and Ella. It was always said that Ella looked like her father and this has been the very first time she had heard something like that, "Everyone always thought she'd look like her father."

"She's got a lot from you – your blonde hair and she's beautiful just like her mother," The Teacher graced Torrie with a smile – one that would melt your heart in a instant.

She smiled back, "So I'm guessing you were just strolling in the neighborhood with a dozen sunflowers and happened to just knock on my door?"

"I was going to give them to you at the Dance," He had originally planned, "But you left a little earlier than expected."

"Well, you know where I went."

"I was also hoping for a dance too."

"You were hoping for a lot of things," Ella started to act up again, getting Torrie's attention, "Ella, what's the matter sweetie?" The cries coming from the child was extremely alarming, "I'm so sorry AJ. I'd like you to stay but I think listening to a child cry isn't your idea of a nice evening."

"It's completely fine," Up on his feet, he started to head to the door being followed by Torrie, "I just really wanted to get you those flowers here. I hope you liked them."

"I loved them."

AJ opened the door for himself and took a step onto the porch, "Well, Have a good night and I'll see you on Monday."

"Get home safe," As he stepped off down the steps, Torrie stepped forward, "AJ, Hold up!"

He tilted his head back and looked up at the blonde, "Something wrong?"

Lunging herself forward, she stepped up toward the teacher and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. Receding back, she smiled and said, "Thank you," one final time before she boasted up back into her home as AJ remained standing there, holding the very cheek she had kissed.

**X__x__x__x__X**

The weekend had come and go and Monday was here. Students of West Beverly were in such blissful moods to be returning back to school after what had been a wonderful weekend. It had started with the Homecoming dance on Friday, Marina Hach's Pool Party on Saturday and a quiet day at the beach for some. Eve, for the first time since coming to Beverly Hills, had the most wonderful weekend. In each event, there was a certain special guy that was involved in them all that just made it even more thrilling.

Strutting through the Hallway, hoping to get to her class on time, the first person she came across was the one who made this past weekend – amazing, "Cody."

The football player smiled back at the Latina, taking steps closer to her, "I feel like I see you so much – I saw on Friday, I saw you Saturday, yesterday and now I have to see you again. Can you say Luckiest guy in the world?"

A tint of red brushed over her cheeks at Cody's flirtatious comment, "I had such a blast this weekend. You trying to surf is the funniest thing I've ever seen. I haven't laugh so hard in such a long time."

"I'm just thrilled to hear that me crashing on the shore, almost breaking some bones and cutting myself up against those painful seashells was amusing to you. Now if I get punched in the face, will you laugh or call an ambulance?" Resting his hand on his chin, he thought for a moment, "If I'm in a bad fight, please don't be around."

"I'd come and help you," Eve said in defense of herself, "Your trying to make it seem like I am the devil in disguise."

"Are you?"

"Yeah – under my hear is to horns and I'm hiding my red tail in my pants," Sarcasm escaped her lips and Cody didn't seem to notice.

"I think I'm going to need to see proof."

And a slap on the shoulder was her response, "Aren't you quiet the one to just sweep girls right off their feet."

"I've actually been meaning to ask you something," Cody took the time to get a little serious, "I have this party tonight at the Malibu Country Club and unfortunately, I don't have anyone coming with me so I was wondering if maybe you'd like to come and grace me with your presence."

Gently biting down on her lip, Eve turned to Cody and smiled, "I'd love to go with you. If this weekend was fun, I'm sure tonight will be a blast."

"Great – one thing about it," Cody took a moment to pause, "It's an all white party so only wear white and I'll pick you up at Seven – on the dot," He took a few steps back, "I'll see you tonight," He stepped away, heading to his next class.

Eve clutched her books onto her chest as the excitement for tonight was rising in her. An evening with Evan was bound to be just fabulous and she couldn't wait to spend it with him. Eve stepped into her history class and took a seat next to Maryse, Alicia and Rosa. Maryse was in the midst of speaking to them.

"..I can't wait for the party tonight – apparently Baxter is inviting one of the Pussycat dolls to come and Taylor Lautner," The French Beauty rambled on about something that Eve was unaware about, "Oh hey Eve - I was just telling the girls about who's suppose to come to the party tonight."

"Oh lucky."

Maryse decided to take this conversation onto a different level, "So I saw you and Cody dancing at homecoming," Not in any way was that a sweet comment nor polite but felt as if it was more of a warning than anything else.

Eve turned to Maryse, feeling a bit alarmed at her comment, "Yeah – he asked me to dance so I accepted."

"I hope you like sloppy seconds."

Her eyes widened, "What?"

"I am just kidding Eve."

Maryse glanced at Eve once more. All she could tell Eve in her mind was to be careful about what she does in this school.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Rummaging through the mess called her locker; Kelly Blank grabbed her chemistry books. Closing her locker, she titled her head to see Evan walking down the hall. After Friday, she had tried to her best to get a hold of Evan but nothing. It made it seem like he was ignoring him or something.

The vibrant blonde jogged toward him while calling his name, "Evan!" She shouted before tapping him on the shoulder to finally get his attention, "Evan," She repeated.

He turned around and a gloomy face was all Kelly had seen, "Hey," The greeting sound so cold. Normally, it would be a lively one, "Can't talk – I've got to get to class."

As he attempted to walk away, Kelly grabbed him by his arm, "Wait – I just wanted to talk to you."

"What?!" His tone got louder and the attitude was known, "What is it Kelly?"

"I just want to apologize about Friday," Kelly added, "I should have told you earlier but I had just found out then. Believe me, I really wanted to go out to the dance with you. I was looking forward to it but things just got in the way. It was just a family emergency so I never got a chance to leave the house."

Evan pressed his lips together tightly, trying to hold back any anger, "Yeah, it must have been a big emergency that you got in the car with some guy."

"What?"

Kelly stood frozen. Did Evan see her that night? Only one way she was going to find out.

"Ted said he saw you at school and you got in the car with some guy – I don't get it. You said you were home and you weren't. Kelly, don't lie to me. Did you not want to go with me or was it just had something planned?"

Shaken by Evan, Kelly had to do it again but this time make it a little bit worse. She had to lie and make him feel bad about it for the lie to work, "I was here but I left as soon as I had found out my Aunt was in the hospital so I had to live. That guy saw me in distraught and offered me a ride. Happy – you've got the truth."

Evan glanced down toward the ground, feeling ashamed for what he had done. He had to make this mess into a even bigger mess, "I'm sorry Kel - I just thought you had other plans. I hope you can forgive me."

She smiled, brightening him up, "I'm not mad – you're my friend and I can't stay mad at you. My life would be over if I didn't have you," She told him, "Walk me to my class?"

"Sure."

As two walked side by side, Kelly erupted in conversation, "Now is it True Zack won?"

**X__x__x__x__X**

It was mid-evening and Cody and Eve pulled up to the huge estate. A well dressed man opened Eve's door and graciously taking her hand. It was safe to say that Eve felt like a million dollars. The party tonight was going to be a festive one. She took her steps onto the cobble stones and looked at the golf manor. Cody exited on the other side, handing the valet his car keys as he would park it for him.

The dress code was white – and only white. Cody had on a white suit, white button down shirt and white shoes. Eve stuck to her white and silver sequin dress with white bumps and her hair in simple curls. The two looked stunning.

Cody took a step next to Eve, "You look like you have seen a ghost or something. It's just a house."

"But this is a country club – and look, there's even paparazzi here. I can't even describe how I feel," Eve strutted forward and saw a few more faces arriving, "How did you get an invite to this party?"

"My Parents were supposed to go but they are in Dubai doing some business so they told me to go," Cody offered his arm to me, "Shall we?"

"I'd love too."

Eve hooked her arm onto Cody's as they walked the red carpet into the Country Club. Photographers grabbed a few shots of the pair, both smiling at them. They soon made their way into the main hall, where the majority of the guests had arrived all dressed in white. Cody smiled and waved at any one he knew and Eve smiled back. They had reached the bar and each grabbed a glass of champagne.

The Latina sipped on her champagne, "This is delicious and everything here is great," Her eyes soon met the one of Hollywood's biggest stars, "Is That Brad Pitt?!"

"Yeah – you want to go and meet him?"

"Would I ever!"

Eve hooked her arm back onto Cody just as he led her away to go meet the movie star.

Back at the entrance ramp, another stars – well, in her mind she was a star entered the manor. West Beverly's Vixen had arrived, with her sidekicks right by her side, "Ladies, I can't believe we are really here."

"Well – it wasn't easy," Alicia added.

"Shut up – just be happy that I got you here. If you weren't here, you'd be on your couch eating out of an ice cream carton. Be grateful I brought you here," The arrogance was present in her tone.

"I was the one who told you," Rosa had added, trying to the credit for this, "My dad got us in."

"And I paid to get you guys in," Maryse added, "I get the credit for the whole thing – now let's go and mingle. I want to find Taylor Launter so I can maybe get an autograph," Maryse stomped away from her friends.

Alicia and Rosa stood watching the Vixen walk off. The two were at their tipping point with her.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Relieved to finally be home, Randy had his feet on the coffee table, remote in one hand and a ice cold beer in the other. The feeling of being home had overcame him and it just felt so good. It was nice and quiet and there was no interruptions in sight. Even with the twins, it did get quiet around the house, especially once they were sound asleep.

He could remember the day they were born – a day he thought he'd never get a decent amount of sleep.

_In the midst of the delivery room, Stacy was finally ready to deliver the twins. In position with Randy right next to her, she was about to start pushing. It was Painfully, she wasn't going to lie that's for sure, "I don't know if I could push anymore," She huffed and puffed, "Can you just pull it out?"_

_"Stacy, just another push and we'll have one baby out," The Doctor said, "Come on!"_

_"You can do it Stace," Randy said into her ear, "You can do it and I know you can."_

_"Okay, Get ready to push at the count of three. 1 -2 -3."_

_Stacy pushed as hard as she could, groaning and sweating until she heard the sudden noise of a baby's cry. Letting out a short breath, she looked over and saw the baby in the doctor's hands, "Congratulations – we've got ourselves a baby boy."_

_"A boy?" Stacy smiled, "Randy – we have a boy!" Tears of happiness appeared in her eyes, "We have a boy!"_

_The Doctor handed the baby off to a nurse, to get it all cleaned up, "The nurse is going to go clean him up and you're going to need to push one more time. At the count of Three Stacy, 1 – 2 – 3!"_

_Letting out one more push, as hard as she could, the noise of yet another baby was heard. The sweet baby was crying as usual and the doctor held it in her hands, "Well, it looks like you guys got one of each. Congratulations – you got yourselves a baby girl."_

_"Randy," Stacy turned to him, "Did you hear that? We've got two – one of each. We've got a boy and a girl!"_

_"I know Stacy," The feeling of being a father came over Randy and he couldn't be any happier. He leaned over and gave his wife a kiss, "You did great there Stacy. I couldn't be happier than right now."_

_"Me too," Stacy smiled, "And I just want to see them – I want to see our children."_

_"The Nurses is going to bring them over," Randy could see the two nurses bringing over the children, "Look – they are bringing them over right now."_

_The Nurse came over, handing the boy to Randy wrapped in the baby blue blanket and handing the girl to Stacy wrapped in the baby pink blanket, "Oh my god, Randy – look at them. They are so small and cute."_

_"I just can't believe it – we're actually parents. I thought this would never happen but it did," Randy looked down at his son, "I think this guy has your nose."_

_"She has your eyes."_

_"What are we going to name them?" Randy asked, "Any picks out there that you'd like?"_

_"Well, for the boy I always loved the name Connor," Stacy looked at her son, "Does he look like a Connor to you?"_

_"He certainly does," Randy smiled, "You're an Orton now Connor – Connor Randall Orton. Now, what about our girl?"_

_"What's your pick?"_

_"I always liked the name Emily," Randy said, "So how does Emily Ann Orton? Does that sound good?"_

_"I like it," Stacy smiled, "So here they are – Connor and Emily our children."_

_"That's right Mom."_

The doorbell rang and Randy just waited for Stacy to get it. He found it odd that she didn't get it, "Stacy, Can you get that? I'm really busy," He sipped down on his beer and got much more comfortable on the couch.

No response.

"Stace!"

"Randy, if you call scratching your ass, watching sports and drinking beer while sitting on the couch 'busy' you are mistaken," The voice of his wife ringed through his ears.

"Dammit!" He groaned as he stood up and headed to the door. Turning the knob, he opened it up and revealed a familiar face, "Oh, hey Dawn."

"Hey Randy," Her sultry smile gleamed in the moonlight, along with the revealing top she was wearing, "I hope I'm not interrupting you or anything. I know you're a really busy man."

"No – not at all. What's up?"

"Well," She bent over slightly to pull out a flyer, "There's this school board meeting about the West Beverly Carnival so I was hoping you could attend. We need to start getting together the volunteers for the Carnival. Interested?"

"Yeah, I'll be happy to go."

"Okay," She handed him the flyer, "I'm trying to get this out to all of the faculty."

"Yeah, I'll come."

As the two continued to talk, Stacy headed down the stairs to see who Randy was talking to. As she reached the door, she saw Dawn speaking to Randy, "Oh, hello Dawn."

"Hi Stacy – I was just stopping by."

Stacy's eyes immediately met her chest, "I think you did more than just stop by," Dawn's revealing choice of clothing didn't really convey anything nice to her. It made it even odder to believe that she worked in a high school.

A chuckle escaped her lips, "Well, I better get going. I can see you two probably want to be alone. I'll see you tomorrow Randy," Dawn turned her heel and walked away as Randy shut the door.

"Did you see the crack in between her cleavage? You could fall in there and probably never come back out," Stacy finished her phrase with a little laugh, "What was she doing her anyway?"

"Too hand out some flyers."

"She handed out more than those flyers."

**X__x__x__x__X**

As the night progressed, Eve and Cody sat by the balcony overlooking the moon shining off the sea. Cody stood beside Eve, as they leaned over the ledge to cast a glimpse of the waves crashing on the shore. Cody stepped closer to Eve as the wind began to work up again, blowing her hair gently into his face. Eve noticed where her hair was going and smiled, "How does my hair taste?"

"I'm not much of a hair eater but I do smell strawberries – well, at least I think it is," He took a sniff out of it, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"This night has been a lot of fun Cody," Eve smiled, "I swear, I've been here for two months and coming to this party was the best thing that happened to me here."

"I couldn't pick a better person to come with me – you know I overhead Kobe say that he was jealous that I manage to bring a better looking date than he did," Cody chuckled, "And he's right."

"Stop," a red tint came over her cheeks, "My cheeks are getting way too red."

They both turned to one another. Eve looked right into Cody's dreamy eyes and could just feel an attraction toward him. He was a genuinely sweet guy and definitely not someone like Jack – who only was just using her. The Latina could see something special growing between the two of them.

"You're completely different from other guys – you know that?"

"I am?"

"You're really different and it's something I really really like," The two got much closer. Lips only centimeters apart and feeling one another's breath on eachother – until…

"Cody, Eve! What a pleasant surprise!"

As the two were about to kiss, There eyes crept over to the platinum blonde that was standing before them. She smiled and Eve broke out a smile, "I didn't know you were going to be here. I should be asking you the same thing."

"I got invited – so did Rosa and Alicia," She glanced around, "Those two are somewhere around here – but I'm surprised to see you guys here. Are you guys here on like some sort of date?" Her eyebrow arched up, hoping to hear the answer she didn't want to hear.

"Um – well, Eve and I," Cody could feel the emotion building up on him. He just wanted to tell Maryse that he liked Eve and just wanted to be with Eve but that was going to be much harder. His stutters weren't making the situation better.

"Well What?" Her hands rested at her lips in a cocky pose.

Eve decided it would be best if she stepped in, "Well, Cody asked me because his ex-girlfriend was her and apparently she wants to get back together with him but he doesn't want to. So he asked me to come so we could pose as a couple this way he wouldn't come on to him or anything."

"Oh really – which girlfriend?"

"Um," Eve paused for a moment before any name just popped up in his head, "Alison – his ex-girlfriend Alison."

Maryse paused, not saying anything for a moment. Her eyebrow came down before she spoke once again, "Oh really – I didn't see her around here."

"I think she left already," Eve smiled, "I was trying to be the best actress to play Cody's girlfriend but I think I got really into it," She turned her head to him, "I liked playing it."

Cody smirked back, "It was an Academy Award winning performance."

Maryse slowly nodded, "Well okay," As she was about to walk away, she turned back to the pair, "I'll see you guys tomorrow – ta ta!"

The French beauty disappeared into the crowd of people as Eve turned back to Cody, "Wow, she would have had our heads if I didn't come up with something that good."

"You know what the funny part of this whole thing was?"

"What?"

"I really had an ex-girlfriend named Allison."

**X__x__x__x__X**

As the party was coming to an end, Maryse enjoyed one last drink by herself as her Car was waiting to pick up her, Alicia and Rosa to take them home. Maryse placed her drink on the bar as Alicia and Rosa both approached. Both women did not look that happy.

"What's wrong with you guys? Someone tell you your dresses were ugly? Finally, someone agrees with me," Maryse rolled her eyes," What is it girls?"

"We're done with you," Rosa said.

Maryse started to laugh, What? You're done with me? That's a good one guys."

"No, we're serious," Alicia stepped forward getting closer toward Maryse, "All you do is step all over us and treat us like crap," She paused, "And Alicia and I are sick of it. We're not going to stand here and watch you constantly insult us. You're not but a Bitch. Tonight was the final straw, Maryse."

"Oh please – you can't live without me."

"We'll be perfectly fine. We don't need you. It's going to be you that is going to need us. After a while, you're going to go crazy not having us around. Me and Alicia will be fine – but you won't. You don't have any other friend," Rosa stepped up, "So Goodbye Maryse – it was nice knowing you, you slut!"

The two turned their heel and just walked away from her. The Most popular girl in school was now friend-less. Her friends walked out on her and she was all alone now.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Eve returned home after a wonderful evening. She came through the front door, just to see her mother beginning to head upstairs, "Hey mom."

"Back already – I thought these Hollywood parties go into the wee hours," Mrs. Torres smiled, "How was your night?"

"Absolutely amazing."

"Really? So I'm guessing a lot of good things happened – spill the beans."

"Cody's a really nice guy – he treated me like a woman and I just had so much fun. I even met Kobe Bryant and he said that Cody brought a much beautiful date than he did," You couldn't wipe the smile off of her face.

"Good – well, I'm going to bed. You get up there too – you still have school in the morning – Goodnight," Her mother headed up the stairs and went to sleep.

As for Eve, she placed down her purse onto the countertop before she heard a knock on her door. She walked over and opened the door. Opening the large brown door, she was surprised to see who was behind the door, "Oh my god, Maryse?"

She didn't say anything and Eve welcomed here in, "Come in – what's the matter?"

"Am I a bitch?"

"No – of course not," Eve shut the door, "What happened?"

"Well, my friends ditched me and told me I was nothing but a bitch. Since I lost my friends, there's only one more person I have," She looked up at Eve, "And that's you."

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, this chapter was sloppy and rushed. I'm sorry - i promise i'll make it up to you guys. Thanks for answering the questions in the previous reviews.  
And i really appreciated those reviews - Please keep them coming :)  
Next Chapter, Someone is coming back - but who is it? Batista? Candice? Chris? Lita? Guess!


	7. Deal is Sealed

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Seven_ - Deal is Sealed

Gossip – that was everything coming out of Maryse's tiny little mouth and she was doing a great job at it. Poor Eve had to hear through all the 'pain' Maryse had been going through. As her only friend, Maryse didn't have many to talk too. There was only Eve.

The two were sitting out on Maryse's deck, overlooking the city. The view was breathtaking but the noise known as Maryse's voice as unbearable. The more Maryse talked, the more Eve stopped listening. It was going through one ear and out the other. She tried to see if maybe the fruity drink in her hand could help with the pain she was going through – but it wasn't working.

"Angelina thinks she can run this school – I don't think so," The rant went on and on, "She and these Beautiful People? Well, whatever they want to call themselves think they can scare me. They obviously don't know who I am."

The Latina had closed out Maryse so long that her thoughts drifted to a much different subject: Cody Rhodes.

That moment was just so – so… just perfect. There was nothing about that five seconds that was great. The urge just to kiss him – the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and feel his touch. Unfortunately for her, that was stopped by a certain someone.

"Eve – are you listening to me?"

Out of her daze, she turned to head to see Maryse with her eyebrow arched up like the half the 'M' in McDonalds. It was best to just say anything, "Yeah – I know."

Maryse stood up on her lawn chair and took off the sunglasses that covered her face, "You seem really lost and distant? Is there something wrong?"

This could be a moment that Eve could ask a question – one that could break or make her friendship with Maryse.

"It's just something with my friend. It's kind of bothering me at the moment."

"Well, I'm your girl to talk to," Her plump pink lips slithered down the straw as she enjoyed more of her fruity drink, "You know you can tell me anything – I'm all ears, Eve."

Taking a deep breath, she decided to give it a shot, "Okay, so I have this friend. She really likes this guy, like really a lot and he thinks he likes her a lot too. My Friend really wants to be with him but the guy is the ex-girlfriend to one of her friends. She doesn't know how the friend would react and doesn't know if she should choose friendship over a guy. What do you think she should do?"

"Well, I think she may understand. If her friend and ex-boyfriend are really through then maybe she should talk to her and see how she feels and then decide whether or not to go with the guy."

"Really?" This was a bit shocking. It made Eve feel that Maryse does have a sweet and understanding side to her.

"It won't kill her or anything – I'd tell her to give it a shot."

A confident smile rose on Eve's face, "Thanks for your advice – I wouldn't know what else to tell my friend."

"Well, that's what I would say if it was someone else," Maryse returned to her previous pose as Eve's smile began to go sour, "If that was my friend asking me, I wouldn't allow it. If your friends with someone, dating your friend's ex is a very big no no. Like if you came up to me and ask if you could date Cody," She chuckled for a brief moment, "I wouldn't allow it."

The whole point of this question went to a huge waste. Eve returned to sipping on her drink and played it cool for the moment.

"I would ask you if you thought Cody was more important than your own friend," The sun glazed down upon Maryse, helping make her bronze skin even more bronze, "But I know you'd never do that – right?"

"mhmm," mumbled Eve, "I'd never do that to you."

_Crap Crap Crap. _Now this was just such a huge blockade in any chance that Eve could be with Cody. As long as Maryse was in Eve's way, a relationship with Cody was out of the question.

"I'm getting tired of this sun," Maryse stood up and fixed up her hair, "I'm craving some sushi – up for it?"

Eve got up and stood right next to Maryse, "I'd like some sushi."

The French Beauty simply gave out a sweet smile as her smooth arm traveled across Eve's shoulders and rested there, "I think having Alicia and Rosa out of my life might have been the best thing to happen to me."

All she can do was smile and try to figure out a way just to get out of this predicament.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Late that Afternoon, Torrie was spending the final moments of work day sorting out some paperwork for some students. When she applied for this job, no one told her about the immense amount of paperwork she had to file. This is supposed to be the digital age – where everything is being done through the computer.

She felt the door creek open but didn't face whoever was doing it. It soon came wide open, knocking over the stack of papers onto her desk. A groan emerged out of Torrie's mouth, "Great – now I have to fix that up again."

"I'm really sorry. You know how your Cousin is like, stupid and loony."

Slowly and quietly, Torrie brought her head up to face a familiar face, with the familiar hair, smile and kooky personality. It was none other than her Cousin/Brother, Chris Jericho, "Chris!" The blonde rushed up and right up to Chris, giving him a hug, "What the – I'm out of words," She was speechless.

"I think you're looking for the words 'Oh my god, I can't believe you're here!' or something along the lines of that," After cutting off their hug, he took a good look at her, "You're still beautiful than ever."

"And you're still the same old Chris I know," She stood before him, about to ask the usually series of questions, "I don't get it – what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in San Bernardino solving crimes and arresting people. What are you doing back here?"

"Well, can't I come and see my favorite Cousin?" He put his little comedic act together, "And other than visiting my Cousin and seeing my favorite niece and nephew, I'm actually here on some business."

"Is Trish here too?" The blonde quickly asked, "Is she?" She asked once more.

"Trish told me she would have love to came but Holly's sick so she wanted to stay home and be with her," Chris referred to his baby daughter, ten month old Holly Jericho – the most recent addition to the Jericho clan, "But she said she'll come visit next time."

"I wish you guys never left – but you had to go get your nice detective job and all."

"Well excuse me for putting my life back on track and trying to make a living for me and my family. It ain't as easy as being a guidance consoler where all you do is just listen to teenage problems," The older cousin struck back.

"It's far from easy," Torrie pointed out the enormous amount of paperwork on her desk, "That's not easy and when you came waltzing in her, you knocked some of them over."

"Still the same old Torrie I know."

"And still the same old idio – I mean, Chris I know," A vibrant smile allured from her face, "So seriously, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be protecting the lives of thousands in San Bernardino."

"I thought you actually heard about it," He scrunched up his lips to the side, "I'd assume Stephanie was going to tell you but that's okay. I guess it was better to have it as a surprise than anything else."

"Spill the beans."

"I'm here on a special mission involving West Beverly," He firmly nodded, "As one of the head detective and my specialty in drug busts, Stephanie's concerned about drug use in this school. There have been many reports of students with drugs and it's believed they are all getting from the same guy – so here I am, trying to find this guy and put an end to this once and for all."

"I think I heard Stephanie talking about something," Spoke the faculty member of West Beverly High, "And they called the best to come and solve it – Smart choice."

"That's right – I am the best," A cocky smile plastered over his lips, "And I'm going to find this guy and bring this guy down."

With the door to her office still open, anyone could hear the conversation they were having and one managed to peep inside to hear what the two were talking about. An individual who would be affected by Chris's police investigation: Ted DiBaise.

The tough guy was now more scared than ever. After hearing the two speaking, he continued down the hallway thinking about a plan he could concoct to get himself out of this mess. Getting busted for drugs would mean he would be spending a really long time behind bars and he couldn't afford that right now.

As soon as he escaped the walls of West Beverly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, dialing the man who had put him on this path. His finger scrolled down the list until he came across the name Phil.

As it rang, he waited for him to pick up the phone. That's when it hit him and he ended the call before Phil could pick it up – he couldn't just coward his way out of this. He needed to stay with him – that's if he still wants that money he desperately needs.

**X__x__x__x__X**

She gently rushed her fingers through her silky blonde hair leaning against her blue locker. The eyes of Maryse looked up and found her new 'best' friend, Eve, walking her way. She quickly waved her hand to get her attention.

Eve simply gave her a small smile. Being Maryse's friend was tough. Last night, Maryse was on the phone with her for hours, kept texting her throughout the day and even came to her house just because she didn't answer one text. The French beauty seemed to be getting paranoid.

"I was thinking you'd never show up – I texted you like five times and you never wrote back. Where were you?" The frightened Maryse asked her.

"I was in my biology lab dissecting a frog. I really couldn't answer your text," Eve shrugged her shoulders letting go Maryse's harsh investigation on where she was, "But now that I'm here, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

Maryse took a deep breath and she frowned a bit. The most popular girl in school was sad about something, "What I am about to tell you is pretty disgusting," Eve waited in anticipation for what Maryse had to say, "I've been replaced."

The Latina huffed out a breath, "How have you been replaced?"

"Well," Her tone became harsher, "Rosa and Alicia think they can replace me so soon," A fake laugh emerged out of her lips, "They've got some new girl and now the three of them walk the halls as if they are the queen bees around her."

She took a moment to think about it. It appears that she still cares about her friends, "So?"

"So – who do they think they are? I was the one who made them who they are and got them where they are now. How could they just abandon me like that and get some other girl to replace me like that?"

Eve noticed that Maryse had yet to mention who this new girl was, "Who's the girl?"

"You're about to find out."

Eve turned her head in the direction of where Maryse's eyes were glaring at. There she saw Rosa on one side, Alicia on the other and the newest addition to the group, a mild dark skinned woman. Eve had seen her once before. All she knew was her name was Layla El and she was now the new Maryse of the group. The trio walked pass the two of them.

It was glare after glare coming from them. Rosa would flash a glare at Maryse and Eve, followed by Alicia and then by Layla. Eve just kept it blank but Maryse had a field day by giving each girl a dirty look. Finally, the three walked away and the blonde let her eyes roll.

"Layla, they pick Layla?"

"Maybe it's for the better."

The phrase repeated through Maryse's ear. A Scowl appeared on her face, "How is it for the better? I mean, I have no friends, my social status is crumbling into pieces and apparently I'm a bitch these days."

"I just saying maybe this is supposed to be a fresh start for you. Maybe those friends weren't really your friends. Maryse, all I'm trying to say is that this may have been the best thing to happen to you. Think about it, you can know be whoever you want to be and make your friends on whom you really are."

"I don't want any new friends – I want my old ones and I'm not going to stand here and listen to your petty bullshit called advice," Maryse stormed off. Eve turned over watching the blonde hall off.

"Well I tried."

"That did not look like it went to well," The sudden appearance of Kelly emerged, "But that's Maryse for you. Stubborn and not willing to take any advice – anything but her own."

"I feel kind of bad for her," Eve bit down on her lips before she faced Kelly, "I hate to see someone so lonely like that over something so stupid. Maybe I should talk to her or something? Try to explain what I meant."

"Let her cool off," Kelly advised. "I know Maryse – she just needs some space to think on her own and I guess she'll come around."

"You seem to care a little bit more for Maryse? I thought you hated her. Having a change of heart?"

"Oh no," Kelly quickly nodded, "Me caring about Maryse? Puh-lease. I can't stand Maryse. The day I start to care about Maryse is the day – well, there won't be no day because I will never care about Maryse.. Geesh, filling my mind with you useless crap."

"Whatever you say Kel."

**X__x__x__x__X**

The day was over and Kelly waited in the parking lot of school. Phil told her to meet him here at 2:50pm. It is now 3:15pm and he is running extremely late. She skipped her Newspaper club meeting with Evan and the rest of them and was no wasting her time in this oddly cold day. In Beverly Hills, the weather never hits below sixty degrees. Today it was fifty five with high winds which made it feel like it was Alaska.

The emergence of a Black SUV popped up in the parking lot and inside was the man Kelly was looking for. The tinted window came rolling down with the flirty smile of Phil Brooks, "Missed me much?"

"The day you choose to be late is the day it's freezing out her," Kelly walked toward the vehicle getting inside, not even looking at Phil, "Just drive and get me to a warm place. Your house better have some heat."

Phil turned his cheek and placed the car in drive. As they drove away, a red car pulled out of the parking lot, following Phil's vehicle. As the two would drive over to Phil's home, the awkward silence would fill up the car. Kelly was silent and he'd look over to her and saw she was upset.

"What's wrong Kel? You're not saying a word."

"Well, would you be mad if you were freezing and came over twenty minutes late? You tell me," Kelly was angry and this time, she was going to show it no matter what.

"Kel, there's no need to be angry about this whole thing. This just happened once and now you here and we'll be at my place in a few minutes. What's the big deal?"

She turned her head away before whipping it back, "The problem is that you don't care. I was out there freezing, wondering where you are and nothing from you. You didn't even text me or call me just to tell me I'll be there really soon or I'm sorry I'm running late. You just don't care."

"If I didn't care, I wouldn't be with you right now. I could be using any other girl but I choose you and I like you. I like you for who you are and think you're a great person. Does that show you that I care? Are you happy to see me care?"

Kelly stood silent for a moment. She looked up at him for a second, "I know you care but I'd like for you to show it a little bit more. You don't even call or text me just to say hi or ask about my day. It's like you're in this for something else but not me."

"I am here for you," He got a little louder this time, "I have feelings for you and ever moment we spend together is just amazing. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"Then show it!" Kelly shouted in the car, "Come on time, send me a text telling me your running late, ask me how I am doing and don't just treat me like I'm your little rag doll when you can use me whenever you want. I genuinely feel something for you – something I've never felt before. It's those three little words I want to say to you."

"Look, we're here," Kelly was interrupted again as they pulled up in front of his apartment, "Come, let's go."

Phil walked much further ahead of Kelly. It seemed he was more frustrated about this whole thing. Kelly quietly got out of the car and didn't walk far behind him. Kelly soon reached the top floor as Phil struggled to get the door open. The minute it was opened, Phil pulled Kelly inside and placed her into a deep passionate kiss. All is aggression was coming out on her, in sexual tension.

Phil was a fool and left the door open a bit for someone to see. Much to his bad luck, a pair of eyes caught the two in the compromising position. He felt like his eyes were lying to him until he took a better look and digested what was going on. Everything made so much sense now for this guy.

Evan was now in on the secret.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Eve glanced through notes at Lunch, trying to study for the math test she had in a few hours. Her eyes strained by seeing the same problem after problem. The red in her eyes soon would cover the green orbs of her. Suddenly, it all turned black when two hands came over her eyes.

"Time to play Guess who!"

"Seriously? Right now? I have this major test in like an hour and If I don't study I'm going to end up failing the class and it's all going to be your fault and this game's fault," Eve uttered in annoyance.

"All you have to do is just guess who I am," Cody took a brief moment to breath, "And don't blame this game. Just take it out on me and not the poor game."

"Cody Rhodes, get your oddly smelly hands off of my face."

In the moment he took his hands away and sat next to Eve. His eyes didn't leave his hands, "Do they really smell? I just washed them before and they already smell. What the hell have I been touching?"

"I'm seriously going to flunk this test in about one hour," Her face crashed into her hands and a loud groan appeared, "I hate my life."

"Hey! You can't say it suck because any life that I am a part of, is a great life. Like Maryse's life is great."

"Don't even mention her name."

"What happened to you and your new best friend?"

"Well she and I got into a little fight. I was just trying to be a good friend and advise her to do something right but it totally went wrong so now she hates me and I have to admit, it kind of bothers me for some odd reason," The new best friend, or former new best friend of Maryse actually showed signs that she cared for Maryse, "As much as she could be annoying sometimes, she's a really good girl at heart."

"Maybe you should just talk to her."

"I will, I'll try to explain the whole thing to her," The Latina shut her book before looking back at Cody, "And that's not the only thing that is bothering me. It's something else she told me that is bothering me and I don't know what to do about it."

"Maybe I can help."

The confused Eve looked up at him in desperation. How could she say that she liked him and knowing that the two of them cannot be together. It's bothering her. Eve was one to never keep her feelings in for too long but it's coming to the point where she feels like she's about to explode with emotion and just wants to tell Cody how she feels.

The moment she was about to say something was the moment Maryse was walking her way, "Oh look, she's coming this way."

Maryse had both her lips held tightly together as the blonde reached Cody and Ted, "Cody, do you mind if I talk to Eve for just a minute? I really want to talk to her."

The football player simply nodded, "I'll leave you ladies alone," He stepped away before walking out of the lunchroom, leaving the two women.

"Maryse, let me just –"

"Hold on," Maryse stopped her from talking, "I'm one to never apologize for anything and I mean anything but I do feel really bad. Yesterday, you were just trying to be a good friend and give me advice about my problems and I just scolded you and didn't take anything you said seriously. You've been an amazing friend and I've been treating you like crap when you're the only friend I have left."

"Maryse –"

"Wait, I'm not done," She interrupted, "I've been a total bitch and I want to let you know, and I never say these little words often, that I am really sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

Eve smiled sweetly. This side of Maryse was something she'd never expect to see, "Maryse, I forgive you. I know, it's tough to see them but you're going to get through it. It just takes some time and when that time comes, those two will be jealous of you."

"I know – so let's go make those bitches jealous," Her hand crept over Eve's, "Right now."

"But Maryse – I have a test to study for."

"Who cares about that? It's always Friends before Tests!"

**X__x__x__x__X**

In the cold and empty parking garage, Ted leaned onto the large SUV. Phil had arranged for Ted to meet with a man concerning a deal of his. In a sleek leather jacket, he held his hands in the two pockets. It was cold that night and the faster this guy got here the faster he'd get out of here.

A silver car pulled up in the parking spot next to the SUV. The person stepped out and walked forward toward Ted. Ted stepped forward, "Listen, I got what you want and it's going to cost you one fifty."

"Alright," The figure handed over the lump of money as Ted handed him what he wanted, "Hey I've been thinking. Does your drug dealer need any more associates? I'm kind of in the need for a job so I was wondering if your guy could hook me up."

"He's not interested. He doesn't need any more associates." As Ted turned around, a sudden force grabbed him and pushed him to the car. Ted groaned in pain the moment he struck the car, "What the hell?!"

"You're under arrest kid," The sound of the handcuffs being pulled from his belt clanged before he latched them on to Ted's hands. This was it – his life was over. He was going to jail and this was the end of the road for him.

"Your under arrest for illegal drug possession and distribution," The officer said, "And I know you go to West Beverly High. I'm Officer Chris Jericho and I'm going to put a stop to this once and for all," Chris turned him over, "And you're going to help me."

Confused and Dazed, Ted looked up at the police officer, "What?"

"You're going to help me," Chris repeated, "I know you. I'm here to stop whatever has been happening in this school."

"And if I don't cooperate?"

"I have something in this whole thing for you. If you choose not to help, you're going straight to jail with a ten year sentence. If you do help me, this little rendezvous we had, I'll say it never happened. I never arrested you. I never saw you but all I know is that you had a connection and decided to give me a hand in this whole case. What do you say?"

Ted bit down on his lip and thought for a moment. So much was at stake at this very moment. His life, his future, his everything.

"I need an answer before I call for back up."

No response from Ted yet.

"Well, I guess I am going to have to go call for back up."

"No! I'll do it. I'll do it."

A slick smile came across Chris's lip. His mission was only half done here. He'd got the upperhand he needed but now he needed to finish the rest of his mission. Find this guy and put an end to all of this once and for all.

* * *

**A/N:** Here's yet another update. A bit short, i know but next few chapters will be better. Chris is back and he'll be around for a few chapters.  
Eve has yet to tell Cody how she feels but when will she? Evan has discovered Kelly's secret but will he tell her?  
& Will Ted really go through with it all? Find out in the next chapter. Please Review guys!


	8. A Kiss that Left her Breathless

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Eight_ - A Kiss that Left her Breathless

The sweet hums would tremble out of her lips going to the beat of the song that was currently being played on her pink ipod. Prior to her study group meet with some fellow students, Eve Torres listened to her song – especially if she'd obsessed with one song. She just needed to listen to it. Lady GaGa's 'Bad Romance' was absolutely addicting; especially that Rah Rah part.

A sudden tap on her shoulder caused Eve to turn around abruptly. Her brown eyes came into contact with her Crush; Cody Rhodes. A smile erupted but when hasn't that happened to her every time she had seen him. The mere sound of his voice or mention of his name just gave her butterflies.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," He had asked, "I can just hear you humming for like twenty feet away."

"It was that loud?" Eve tugged on her headphones, pulling them out of her ears, "I thought I was humming softly enough that no one would hear me."

"That obviously failed," The football slipped into the seat next to her, "So what are you doing here? Classes are over for the day and I'm surprise Maryse isn't here dragging you somewhere."

"She had a nail appointment. She offered but I declined. I've got to hit those books for my Chemistry test this Friday so I have study group with some of my friends," The sunlight glared down on the pair and it caused Eve to squint her eyes, "Stupid Sun. Must it shine right on me?"

Cody moved over further into the shade. He patted on the seat aside from him and said, "Scoot over. There ain't no sun here."

She smiled and moved over close to him. Being this close, those butterflies in her stomach were going crazy. They were seconds away from shooting out of her small little stomach.

Eve turned her head to Cody, hoping to speak to him about something. It was about the feelings she had for him and how she desperately wanted to convey them to him. It was time to break the ice and get this going.

"Can I ask you something?"

"You know you can ask me anything."

With her fingers, she delicately tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear and looked over at him, "I really just wanted to talk to you about something. It's about you and like it's been eating me and I feel like I should just tell you already. I'm sick of holding stuff in. I'm not a girl who likes to keep everything in."

"I know – you couldn't keep those hums in so I know you're a girl who expresses herself," A chuckled came through, "But I understand what you're saying. What do you want to tell me?"

"Okay, this isn't really easy. This far from easy."

"Eve, you can tell me," The palm of his hand came over and collapsed over her hand. He placed a small grip on it, "You can tell me anything."

His words felt really reassuring and gave her a bit more strength to just proceed forward, "Well, you see – I really," Why was this so hard? It just best to spit it out, he'll understand, "What I want to say is that I really.."

"Hold that thought."

"What?"

Eve watched as Cody reached into his jeans pocket to pull out his cell phone. It was in the midst of vibrating. Cody flipped it open and began to speak, "Hey man…. Alright, I'll be there in a second. See ya," And he shut it closed.

"Who was that?"

"It was Scott from the football team. He told me that Coach wants to see all of us right now," The football placed his phone back into his pocket, "So what were you saying before I got the call?"

"You know – it can wait. Your Coach wants to see you and I don't want you to get in trouble. Whatever I have to say can wait," She had encouraged him to leave but this meant postponing the big reveal of her feelings for him, "It's not really that important."

"Are you sure?"

"Cody, I'm really sure. Just go before your Coach gets even more mad."

He nodded firmly before he walked away. The moment he disappeared, She took a deep breath and felt revealed that it was over. Her mission had failed but there is still more chances to tell him. Who said it had to be today?

It can be tomorrow, or the day after that, or the day after that or next week or next month, even next year.

Well, maybe not next year.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Following another Date, AJ walked Torrie up to her front porch. Another evening spent with AJ was amazing. It was about their third date and sparks were flying. They clicked and were attached like a key to a key chain. Torrie reached her door and took out her keys before taking another look at the West Beverly High Teacher.

"AJ, this was another amazing evening. I never knew you danced that good. You're as good as those pros on television," The compliments rolled out of her lips following their salsa dancing date at a Spanish restaurant across town, "Maybe you should quit teaching and be a dancer."

"I thought about that. I asked my parents if I should be a dancer and my mom was for her but I can't say the same for my Dad. He said 'My son ain't going to be no little dancer! The day pig fly that will happen' so I don't think that meant he was supportive."

Torrie laughed at AJ's little remark. That's one thing that would always get Torrie – he's sense of humor was something she loved and found so attractive, "You're too funny. I swear, I love it."

"The maybe I can be a Teacher, Dancer and a Comedian. I wonder what Dad will say this time."

She laughed one more time before she was about to conclude this date, "AJ, thanks again. I had a wonderful time with you. I have fun with you way too much. I'd definitely like to do this again."

He stepped closer to her. His feet landed right before her and he looked right into her eyes, "I had fun too. I think you're an amazing girl."

Silence appeared and AJ and Torrie just looked at one another. The Blonde couldn't pull them off her eyes from him and neither could she. AJ's lips came closer to hers and she stood there. Soon her eyes were closing and so were his and she definitely knew what was going to happen. AJ's smooth lips crashed against hers.

The feeling was odd. Torrie hadn't had a feeling like this since she was with John. The way this kiss felt was just as similar as the one's she'd share with John. What was going on? They both began to pull away and Torrie took a deep breath.

"Good night Tor."

AJ stepped away and not a peep came out of Torrie's mouth. Torrie quickly stepped inside her home and tossed her keys on the table beside her. Her back hit the door and she slowly sank down on the door, before hitting the floor. She was completely dazed and speechless.

Kelly, who was babysitting came in. The younger sister rubbed her eyes and found her old sister on the floor. Confusion emerged before she began to speak to her sister, "Tor, why are you on that floor? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"AJ kissed me."

"What?!" Kelly rushed over and kneeled by her side, holding her sister's hand, "You and AJ kissed? I can't believe it – give me details."

"It was amazing but –"

"I can't believe you two kissed. I mean, this is great. You're slowly getting over John and this is what you need. AJ is a great guy and –"

Kelly couldn't finish her phrase as Torrie stood right back up on her two feet and walked away. The ending of the night was just bittersweet. It's hard to explain when you want something but don't want it at the same time. Torrie wanted AJ but didn't want him at the same time.

**X__x__x__x__X**

"Are you kidding me?"

Another enraging conversation was brewing between Kelly and Phil in Phil's home. Same old issues, just a different time and the day hadn't even started before this argument erupted. As the arguing spewed over, Kelly felt weakness creep over her body. Kelly couldn't handle it anymore – she couldn't handle this at all.

"I am not kidding you – I try Kelly, I really try to see you a lot but I do what I can do. Maria's home this week so I obviously can't see you. What do you expect me to do? Just tell Maria I'm off to go and see some sixteen year old girl to have sex. I'm sure she'd definitely agree with me."

"It's not only that. The chance we do have, you don't take it because you have business," Said Kelly, folding her arms tightly, "Which you won't even tell me. I don't even know what you do. Everything's a secret with you."

"Do you expect that we make what we have not a secret anymore?" His voice was raising the closer he stepped forward to Kelly, "Because you know we can't. I don't understand, I like it like this but you want so much more."

"I'm a girl Phil – all girls want something more. When we are in a relationship, every girl wants a little more. We all want that little something but you obviously failed at doing that. All you care about is yourself," Kelly jerked her head away from Phil, not wanting a single gaze from him.

"Hold up – let's rewind a bit Kelly, since when is this a relationship?"

With a face of confusion, Kelly turned around and look at Phil, "That's what this is. Two people that care about one another is a relationship."

"Kelly – I'm sorry to burst your bubble but this is not a relationship. This is a fling and nothing more. We are not going to live happily ever after. We're not going to live in that picket fenced house. Face facts, this is nothing but just sex."

The words that came out of Phil's lips were selfish and hurtful. Kelly couldn't stand another look at him, "You don't mean that."

"I do – I really do. One day, I'm not going to need you and that day may be coming really soon Kelly."

"Fine."

Kelly reached for her black purse and tossed it over her shoulder. She located the door and quickly stepped out of his apartment, slamming the door shut. She took a moment to recollect herself but that was cut short, when yet another problem emerged.

Evan was standing right before her on the steps. Kelly's eyes widened. Evan just stared at the blonde and didn't say a peep. For a few moments, all you could hear was the sound of each other's breath and the dead stares they were giving one another.

One had to break the ice and it appeared to be Evan, "So this is what you've been up too?"

"Evan, it's not what it seems," An explanation seemed to be out of the question but it wouldn't hurt o try, "Listen, Phil's just a friend and nothing else."

"How do you expect me to believe that after I just heard everything you two had said? Kelly, I swear – I'd never expect this from you," Disappointed and upset was the two words to sum up Evan's feelings at that moment, "I can't believe your sleeping with this guy who's almost twice your age and has a girlfriend. What's the matter with you?"

"Evan, it's far too complicated for you to understand."

"What's complicated to understand?"

"Evan, I can explain this whole thing, just give me a chance and I'll tell you everything."

"Why tell me anything when I already everything?"

"Evan," Kelly muttered softly as one of her only friends, backed away from her. Every step he took was a step farther away from Kelly. Kelly leaned back onto the railing before she slowly began to slide down, crashing onto the floor in a million pieces.

Secret's out – and now it's time to face it.

**X__x__x__x__X**

As students began to arrive at school for another day of classes, Dawn had just gotten through the doors of school and eventually made her way to her office. Seconds upon getting in there, she saw Randy standing there reading something off his phone. What a way to begin her day by having him over here.

"Looking for Stephanie?"

He shot up and smirked up at Dawn, "I just wanted to talk to her about something."

"Well, for future reference, I'll always come in about a half an hour earlier so she should be here soon," Heading over to her desk, she placed her purse down on the empty chair, "What do you want to talk to her about?"

Randy quickly nodded and didn't really move his face away from the screen of his phone, "Just something about the upcoming Football championship finals. I guess it can wait," Randy hunched back up from the desk, before smirking.

Out of curiosity, Dawn glanced at the football coach watching him laugh at his phone, "Is your cell phone not only for calling but being a part time comedian?"

He laughed, "No, Stacy sent me some pictures of the kids, Emily and Connor. I swear, this really brightens my day. Thank god for Picture messaging."

"You talk all about these kids and I've never seen a picture."

Randy scooted over and leaned his phone in toward Dawn, showing the picture of his two children, "The one of the left is Connor and the one on the right is Emily. They're twins but not the ones that look alike."

"They are so adorable. I can see that Connor looks a lot like his Dad," She pointed out the facial comparison between father and son, "I think he's going to have Dad's nose and that smirk too. You can already see that coming up on your son."

"I look at these two and I'm really contemplating on having another kid and I know Stacy would want another one. It's tough raising kids but I want to have a big family. I don't care if have to be up all night but just to have one of these little guys would really make me happy. I know I don't come across as a real family man but I am."

Dawn bit down on her lip, "But think about it for a second. You have twins. Most people expect to have one child in their first pregnancy, not two. Maybe this was the it was intended to happen. Just think about it for a moment before you make this monumental decision. Think of everything."

She lied about this whole thing. Dawn has a crush on Randy. For once, she had feelings for a man – a married man but that wasn't stopping her. Getting Randy to think about having another baby was all just part of her little plan. Her plan to bring Randy closer to her and farther from Stacy.

"I don't know – I'd love to have more kids."

"I know you do but your life is so perfect now and I don't think Stacy would want any more kids. I mean, she obviously has her hands full now and more children wouldn't be right. I'm just speaking from both your sides."

"How would you know about this?"

Quickly, Dawn thought of something to say, "My Sister had two kids and then she wanted more. I warned her and told her to just take it easy and not doing anything drastic. She didn't listen and had another child. After that, her husband left not being able to handle everything and she had gone into depression. It was just horrible and she's been down spiraling since then. She was never the same."

It frightened Randy – to be completely honest. He still wanted himself and Stacy to still be happy and not have to endure what Dawn's sister did. He took a deep breath and placed his phone back into his pocket, "Maybe your right."

**X__x__x__x__X**

With the fresh make up patted down on her face and her hair all straight, Maryse was ready for another adventure at school. The moment she had reached the end of the stairs, she found her bag and quickly grabbed it before stepping into the kitchen to grab her car keys. She looked into the key tray and found the keys to her Mercedes. Taking one look up, she saw her parents and said, "Okay I'm going to school. Bye Mom, bye Dad."

Nothing but a cold silence emerged until her mother, Marie, began to speak, "Maryse, come over here. Me and my father need to speak with you."

Maryse slowly walked over and leaned over the kitchen counter, "What do you have to talk to me about?"

"It's about us," Charles Ouellet spoke up, "It's about me and your mother."

She had not one clue what was going on. Should she fear for the worst? Or maybe this whole thing is a good thing, just disguised as something bad.

"Just tell me."

"There's no easy way to tell you this – but let me say that both your father and I love you very much and we care about you. No matter what happens to any of us, that will never change," The tone in her mother's voice changed. It was much more serious than ever.

"Your Mother's right – the easiest way to tell you this is just to be straightforward," A deep breath allured through his lips as he closed his eyes. Maryse's Mother was getting visibly upset while Her father stayed come, "Maryse, what your mother and I are trying to tell you is that we are getting divorced."

She could feel her heart sinking then crashing to the ground in a million pieces. She was shattered. Never in her life would she ever think this could happen to her family. Not a word peeped out of her, just a miserable stare in disbelief.

"I know it's shocking dear but we couldn't keep this hiding for much longer. We've been in the process of getting a divorce for about two months now and now it's coming to an end before its finalized; we've decided to tell you. We didn't say anything before because we feared this could interfere with your school work or anything along the lines of that. I hope you can understand why we did this," Charles spoke up, in defense of his soon to be ex-wife and himself.

"Why? That's all I want to know."

"It's complicated. You're Father and I just don't love each other as we did before. But that does not change our love for you. We love both you and your sister very much and we'll still remain friends. We made a promise that we'd work some things out this way we can still be family. This is all going to be just fine," Marie explained in hopes of getting Maryse to understand the situation a bit better.

"No it's not – you're splitting up and you think this is going to be just fine?" Maryse questioned with a glare, "How does Sophia feel?"

"She understands."

"She's lying."

Maryse stood up and began to exit the kitchen, "Where are you going sweetie?" Marie asked, "Stay here if you want."

"I'll stay when we are a happy family – not a broken apart family whose parents can remain 'friends' – I'm leaving," The tears were hard to hold back but Maryse was strong. Something like this was not going to break her down.

**X__x__x__x__X**

As the day was concluding, Eve sat on the bleachers checking out the football practice Cody was in. The athletic Cody was tossing the football around while other teammates were doing a few drills. Getting impatient, Eve searched the sidelines to see if Kelly was coming. Eve was in need for some serious advice and who better to get it from than Kelly? She's usually good at these things and Eve could always count on her.

Finally, showing up in the distance was Kelly – who wasn't her usually bubbly self but seemed a bit nervous, "Kel – over here," Waved the brunette to grab her attention.

"I dropped my cell phone when I was walking over here and I had to go back and find it – that's when I found your angry text and ran right over here," She took a seat on the cold silver bleaches, right next to Eve, "What was it that you need to talk to me about?"

"Kelly, I'm in desperate need of advice and guidance," Began the Latina, "I need guidance in my love life because, to be perfectly honest, I'm more lost than that guy who was lost in The Hangover."

"Well you can't be that lost – because you're not on roofies nor drunk."

"Forget that I said that," Comparing your problem to a movie just made this whole thing confusion. Before she could continue, her eyes focused onto the field. The two were glued to a figure, tossing around a football.

Kelly wasn't stupid enough not to notice the sudden silence between the two. She followed Eve's eyes to a figure wearing a football jersey with the number '21' and a name in big white letters reading 'Rhodes'

Eve Torres was completely smittened.

"Stop staring at the irresistible jock, please. You're making this so obvious Eve."

"Kelly, I'm so head over heels. I like this guy so much but I'm scared to reveal my feelings and that if we do have something, someone is going to ruin it."

"Maryse."

"Yeah – you hit it right on the nail. What the hell am I going to do?"

A weary deep breath came from Kelly, before she began to speak, "Eve, go and talk to him. It's your best bet. See how he feels about you and from there, you'll decide what goes on. Cody may feel the same way for you. It could be killing him too that he can't talk to you so maybe you should do it."

"Why must this all be so complicated?"

"That's life sweetie."

Was she right? Should Eve just spill her heart out and hope to God that it was for the right reason? Hope that Cody feels the same way and they can work this out? Hope that Maryse disappears and this could be so much easier? Well, that's taking it too far but she was the road block into crossing this intersection. She was the toll before the bridge.

So much was at stake with this all. If everything did go right, She'd have Cody but would gain an enemy. This enemy would definitely be the worst enemy to make here. With so much at stake, Eve had no clue what she was going to do.

"I'll talk to him – as soon as I can. His practice is over in a few hours so I'll talk to him then."

"Good," Kelly confidently smile, "I have to go – I've got to go and find Evan, he has my Math book."

There was no math book. Kelly just needed Evan to keep his mouth shut about her and Phil. She left Eve and managed to get back into the school, in search of Evan. Best bet was he was in the Student Resource Room, working on something for the school newspaper. Lucky for her, there was Evan typing something up for the newspaper.

"Evan."

He didn't even turn to her and just sat there silent until he greeted her, "Hey," He simply spoke without taking a look to her.

"Can we talk – you know about earlier?"

Slowly, Evan made contact with Kelly. He firmly held his hands together and rested them right on his lap, "I think I saw enough."

"Evan, just hear me out. Me and Phil, it's complicated. It's hard to understand."

"Kelly, I don't understand what's hard to understand. You're sleeping around with a guy who's like thirty years old, he apparently has a girlfriend who he wants to be with and he just thinks of you guys as a fling. You're doing something so stupid."

"I'm not," Kelly defended herself, "He does care about me and I'm not doing anything bad. He provides me with comfort and I provide him with comfort. It's not stupid – it's real."

"You're completely brainwashed," said Evan, with an eye roll, "He even said this was a fling and nothing else but you obviously think otherwise. Not only that, how could do this? This could just get really out of hand and can get into the wrong hands."

"That's why I need you to keep this between us – I don't want this getting out of hand and blowing up in my face. I'll figure this out on my own. Can I trust you to keep this a secret?" Kelly asked for Trust – though she has not been a trustworthy one.

Evan thought for a moment and wondered what the right thing to do was. He looked in her eyes and nodded, "It's safe with me."

"Thank you Evan."

"I wasn't finished," He interrupted her for a moment, "Just Kelly, be careful and do what's right and I know you know what the right thing to do is."

**X__x__x__x__X**

"Torrie, what do you mean you're leaving?"

Kelly witnessed her sister packing away some clothes in a suitcase as little Nathan watched on. Torrie urgently packed the essential items and a few toys for the children. Torrie needed to escape for a little while just to evaluate her thoughts and think everything through. It was all because of that damn kiss.

"Kelly, I just need to clear my head," Said Torrie placing another shirt into the black suitcase, "I am so lost of thoughts so I took a short leave from work and I'm going to go see Adam and Lita in San Diego. With me gone, you're in charge of this place. Don't do anything stupid. Plus, Chris might be stopping by before he leaves next week."

"Can you tell me why you're leaving?"

She paused. Torrie slowly raised her head up and look at her sister, "It's complicated. You just won't understand but just promise me something," Kelly nodded, securing her promise to Torrie, "If AJ asks anything about me, just tell him I went away. Okay?"

"But why?"

"Don't ask questions – just do as your told."

Chris emerged into the bedroom and saw his cousin packing her bags up. Confusion emerged before he began to ask her what was going on, "Torrie – you're on the move again?"

"I need a little vacation," The blonde glanced around and notice she was missing a few things for her trip, "I need to go grab a few things for Nathan and Ella," Torrie quickly picked Nathan up and exited the bedroom with Kelly following her.

As they left, Chris's phone began to vibrate. He noticed it was his new associate calling him. He flipped his phone up and greeted the high school student, "Ted, got some news to tell me?"

"Punk's willing to talk to you. He said he's busy this week but next week, he can arrange a meeting and bring you what you need," Ted was setting up the very man who was being hunted for by the police. It was a good deed but it was definitely going to have painful consequences.

"Good – gives me some extra time to better my plan," Chris took a moment and paused before speaking more, "Ted, you're doing a good thing. You're putting away a man who's been destroying young lives where he belongs. Don't doubt once what you're doing."

"I'll doubt this if this somehow gets traced back to me. You promised me if I did this, that none of this gets traced back to me. Are you keeping your word?"

"Ted, stop worrying – I'm going to make sure everything goes according to plan."

**X__x__x__x__X**

Patience wasn't her best attribute – especially when she had something huge on her chest that she just had to get out. Heavy breathing and a bit of sweat consumed Eve. Her nerves were off the roof and she felt like a ticking time bomb ready to blow.

Lucky for her, he was finally coming. A smile wiped across his face and nothing but his football shorts on with his t-shirt hanging off his shoulder. This just made this whole thing much worse – but more hot.

"I didn't expect you to wait – last time you had to leave," Cody smirked before he placed his football gear on the bleacher. That's when he noticed something was up with Eve, "Eve, is there something wrong? You seem a bit frightened."

"Can we talk?"

"Oh yeah sure," He tapped her to take a seat on the bench and the two looked at one another, "I know you wanted to talk before but I had to go – now we can talk, no interruptions."

One last deep breath – one last chance to back down but Eve couldn't. It was do or die time, "I just really wanted to talk to you. You're an amazing person, you know that?"

"I hear that a lot," He joked, "And you're pretty damn amazing yourself."

"That's not really the point of this – so let me just go on and continue," Eve glanced at the dirt ground before looking back at Cody, "I'm just going to say it and hope it comes out good and not creepy or freaky in anyway. Cody, I really –"

"Eve, are you there?"

What was with these interruptions?! The both turned around and found where the noise was coming from. It was blonde and had a light tan skinned. It was Maryse standing there, eyes puffy and red. The French beauty queen seemed to be devastated.

"Maryse," Eve quickly stood up and walked over to her, "Is everything okay? What's the matter?"

It was tough for Maryse to just let it out. Moment before speaking, she'd have a bit of trouble to breath before she managed to spit it all out, "My parents told me that they are getting divorced," And she couldn't hold it in anymore and Maryse collapsed onto Eve, tears spewing out of her.

Eve held the devastated friend close to her as Cody stepped up and placed his hand on her back, rubbing it, "It will be okay Maryse."

Eve glanced up at Cody and saw another side of him – a more compassionate and loving side of him. Though Maryse was his ex, he still had a part that cared for her. Eve's eyes were pleased and it returned it with a smile. Though Maryse had interrupted another chance for Eve to just spill her heart out, it failed miserably. Eve just has to tell him.

These Feelings were strong and they just weren't going to stay concealed forever. It's time to shed some light on this – at the next chance she gets.

* * *

**A/N: **And i'm back with another chapter! It's a bit late but better late than never!  
Please be kind to leave a nice review for me! I lost a review or two before but i hope to gain that back :)  
Thanks for reading and look out for the next update!


	9. Lost Without You

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Nine_ - Lost Without You

The sun had set and the bright white moon was had risen over the sky of Los Angeles. In the midst of the parking lot where Phil Brooks was awaiting for the arrival of a new client of his, the moonlight didn't provide much light. Phil leaned up against his car – in a cocky pose and arms crossed.

It was one in the morning and the bright headlights of an approaching car was coming for Phil. The rays of light blinded the individual and he used his hands to block any of it away. The lights went off and the door opened up. Out came his foot, followed by the rest of his body. Dressed in black from head to toe, Chris shut the door to his black SUV and took a few steps forward to face the man.

"Anybody followed you here?" Phil immediately asked the man.

"Not a soul," Chris took a few steps forward when he was eventually just a foot or two away from the man, "Now I hope you didn't come empty handed – because I certainly didn't."

"As long as you have the money, I'll have what you want," Phil reached into his pocket and pulled out a brown crushed up paper bag and handed it over, "There's what you wanted – now give me what I want."

Chris took a peak into the bag and found what he was looking for. Chris reached into his pocket and handed Phil the envelope full of cash, "And here's what you wanted – in twenty dollar bills for you."

A glimpse into the envelope and Phil saw the prize that was waiting inside. The smirk rolled across his face as he looked back at the man, "It was good doing business with you. You look like the kind of man that needs his fair share of things in life. How about we make this a regular thing and I'll cut you a few deals?"

"I'm just a onetime buyer."

"Onetime buyer?" Phil turned his head to place his cash into his back pocket, unaware of what exactly was going to happen.

A sudden thrust into his car and Phil's body struck the front portion of the vehicle. Phil felt the sudden pain in his ribs and it took a while for him to just realize what exactly was happening to him. Chris grabbed one hand and placed a nice silver bracelet on him and eventually hooked the next one into his other hand. He was finally subdued and wasn't going anywhere.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"You're under arrest for the possession and marketing of drugs."

"Wait – wait, we can work this out man," It was time to use some tactics and persuade Chris not to arrest the man and set him free, "I'll pay you man – I've got money and I've got a girlfriend who'd like to show you a good time or I have another friend," By friend, Phil meant Kelly – little did Phil know that Kelly was related to Chris, "Come on – you're making a huge mistake man.

"You'd do that to your girlfriend?"

"I'd do anything to save my ass. Whoever I got to through under the bus, I'll do it," Phil wrenched his eyebrow up, "What's your name? I'd like to know the man that's arresting me."

"Jericho – Chris Jericho but it's Detective Jericho to you."

"Such a pretty name."

Chris gave a disapproving nod before speaking again, "Phil Brooks, You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense. Do you hear me sir?" Chris firmly added as this was a part of being a police officer.

"I can't fucking believe it."

"Well you better believe it," As Chris muttered those words to Phil, as two LAPD cars slowly made an appearance through the ramp way, "You're heading straight for the slammer man. You're looking at a long time in jail."

"I'll get a good Lawyer and prove my innocence – you'll see."

"Not with something like this. Listen Phil, take one last look at the outside world because you won't be seeing it any longer," Chris pulled him up and waved out to his officers, "All you'll be seeing is the paint chipping from that old cell of yours."

**X__x__x__x__X**

At the local police station – late that night, Kelly came through the doors. The moment her head had reached the pillow of her bed, her phone began to ring like crazy. Of course she didn't hesitate to pick up and quickly answered the phone. Phil just explained he was in jail and he needed someone at the moment. She couldn't fit in a question in why he was there or anything along the lines of that. The moment she hung up, she sprinted into her car and her she was, in front of a police officer.

"I'm looking for Phil Brooks – he was brought in about two hours ago," Kelly kindly asked the police officer at the front desk.

"He's in the group holding cell – just follow that hallway straight down and you'll see him," Said the Police officer.

Kelly did as directed and followed the words of the police officer. The feeling of walking down that creepy hallway sent shivers up and down her spine. The sound of howling criminals echoed through her ears. Even the smell – though it was disgusting – made it even more horrifying.

One question that was left unanswered as she went down the hall – What did Phil do? Kelly knew Phil inside and out and just couldn't imagine what he had done to wind up here. Whatever it was, it was far from good and so close to bad. Kelly's nerves caused her to tremble a little bit but she took one final gulp and took her final steps before she had reached the holding cells of the recently brought in criminals.

Wild animals – that's how she'd describe the men in there. Some were just plain crazy and Kelly made sure of it that she didn't come into contact with anyone of them except Phil. One in particular kept staring right at Kelly with his ice cold eyes. Kelly returned it with a frown.

"Kelly!"

The blonde looked over and found Phil hidden behind the steel gray poles. Kelly walked up to him and stared into those eyes of his, "Phil, just start to explain. What the hell are you doing here?!"

"They think that I've been selling drugs – which is a lie. None of it is true and you can't believe it. This system is corrupt. Don't listen to them and everything is going to be fine."

"Phil, how can this all be fine?" Finding it hard to believe, how could this whole thing vanish? Kelly just didn't know what she should exactly do, "You're looking at a long time in jail. My Cousin Chris is a detective and he tells me what can happen to you."

The sudden name sounded familiar to the criminal, "Hold up – you're cousin is named Chris and he's a cop? How does he look like?"

"Well, he's tall, had dirty blonde hair like mine and –" She froze for a moment. It was plugging in. Kelly overheard her sister and Chris speaking about something involving a drug bust and that Chris was the lead for the investigation. This was all finally making some sense for once. Phil was lying to her, "You bastard."

"What? What crawled up your ass?"

"Tell me the truth – did you really get busted for selling drugs or are you innocent? Be honest."

Phil turned away and stared right at Kelly, "I wasn't lying then and I'm not going to lie to you now. I am telling you the truth – it was all a set up and they are just trying to bring the good man down."

She crossed her arms tightly and looked away, "You're such a liar," Her eyes shut and she turned back at him, "Chris had been investigating a drug bust – and he was looking for you all this time. Don't try and get your way out of this. I know the truth – but you're too stupid to admit it."

"You knew about this and you didn't tell me?"

"How am I supposed to tell you when you didn't tell me anything? This is all your fault and not mine. Stop trying to blame this on anyone else. You have no one but yourself to blame for this whole thing."

"Kel – just relax," Phil's eyes eventually strolled down the hall and met a redhead making her way toward him. His jaw dropped, "Maria – what are you doing here?"

Kelly turned forward and faced Maria. Maria took a good look at Kelly as she grew suspicious, "Phil, what the hell are you doing here? Why the hell are you in a prison cell?"

"Woah, the guy's got two girls – not bad," Another man spoke in the jail cell next to Phil.

Maria's eyes glanced back and forth at Kelly and Phil and then firmly stopped right at Kelly, "And may I ask who are you? Isn't it a little past your bed time?" Maria got right into it, "Doesn't someone have school tomorrow."

"I was actually just leaving," Kelly walked right past Maria with her head just staring down at the ground. Maria took a look back as Kelly departed as her eyes returned to Phil, waiting for an explanation.

**X__x__x__x__X**

A wreck would be a perfect definition to define Maryse. For a change, she was not her usual self. A bit more somber and distraught Maryse sat on the bench right outside of school as her fellow students began to pile up for another day at school. Eve had spotted Maryse sitting by herself. A part of her wanted to just go on and not have to deal with it but she knew the right thing to do.

Eve took the seat on the right of Maryse and gently placed her hand on the blonde's back, rubbing it gently. Eve could hear the low sobs coming from Maryse, "Try not to cry Maryse."

Slowly, Maryse rose her head up and faced Eve, "Today's the final court date where everything is going to be finalized. Who gets what, how much money my dad needs to give me my mom and they'll be officially divorced."

"You're going to go the court room today?"

"Yeah – right after school they have their case. My mom thinks it would be a good idea if I went just to show some support when I just really don't want to hear a word. What kind of parents would want their child to witness something like that?"

This was just a mess. Eve wasn't sure if she really knew how exactly to handle this situation. Only with quick phrases like 'Everything is going to be okay.' The Latina sat their completely speechless and just out of words.

"I'm just going to go – I'll see you in class later," That was it and Maryse had left Eve there.

Her sigh was louder than anything. It was relief to have Maryse disappear for the moment being and able to breathe not having to think of something to tell Maryse. As soon as she was gone, up came Evan with a concerned look on her face.

"This is odd to see you looking a bit sad," Eve told Evan as he sat beside her, "What's up with you?"

"Eve – I think there's something you should know. It's About Kelly," She nodded to his response as he continued, "Well, she may have told you already but I'm just not sure about it. Promise you won't say anything if you don't know?"

"You can trust me – I won't say a word."

Evan didn't precisely know if he she open his mouth about this whole thing. He had promised Kelly not to say anything but she was really confused about the whole thing, "I don't know if you have notice but Kelly has been kind of secretive as of lately. So one day, I followed her when she had 'something' to do."

"Evan, you shouldn't been following her. You can't be invading into her personal space. I know you two are good friends but that doesn't mean you can just invade and follow her – it's completely wrong."

"Let me finish before you say anything," He asked, "When I followed her, she went into some house with this guy who was like thirty years old. He had tattoos up and down his arms and a beard as if he was Jesus Christ himself. It was weird and only going to get even weirder."

Now Eve's eyebrow really went up. This was not really weird but scarier, "Evan, just say it because I'm getting a little scared."

"I followed her again another time and this time, I went up outside the apartment she and him had gone into. They left the door open and I listened into their conversation. Kelly and him are in some sort of relationship but it's really nothing but sex."

Not a word – not a peep. Eve couldn't find those words that could described what she was hearing. It sounded nothing like the Kelly she had known. It was like she had a secret life that she had been hiding from all of us – almost way to well.

"And the whole bad thing about this is that Kelly actually thinks they are in a relationship and expecting that they'll be together when he even told her it was nothing but sex. She's brainwashed. Kelly's been totally brainwashed that she thinks something will come out of that relationship. I'm really worried about her and I think something may happen. That guy – he's not good. He was loud and I'm afraid for Kelly."

"This was totally unexpected. Kelly doesn't seem like a girl who would do something like that."

"Well, I guess there are some things that we just don't know about her. I just thought maybe that you know, we can talk to her about this whole thing. What she is doing is completely wrong."

"Is she here today?"

"No, she said she had to do a few things and she's not coming in. I hope we get to see her and talk to her as soon as we can."

The suspicious of Kelly's secret life had risen but there was another suspicion arising and it didn't involve Kelly but something about Evan. The way he spoke about her, the concern that he has had for her – it got her thinking. Is there more to this than Evan says?"

"Evan, you seem so dedicated in helping Kelly – is there something else going on?"

"Like what?"

"Well, the way you talk about her and the concern you have for her, it's really nice. It nice to know that she has a good friend in you but I just have an iffy feeling," Eve smiled, "Well that maybe you want to be more than friends with her. Maybe you actually like her."

Evan shot back a surprised look at Eve, "Uh, what are you talking about?" His stuttering wasn't help, "Um you see – like it's not what you think – just uh, we're just friends. That's right nothing but really good friends. Why can't a friend be caring and show concern? Isn't that what a friend should do? I do not like her - I repeat, I do not like her. Evan does not like Kelly. Evan just sees Kelly as a friend."

He couldn't make it more obvious. Eve just smiled and played along with it, "Okay, whatever you saw. I'll keep your little crush a secret."

"Why keep it secret when there is nothing to keep a secret? I do not like her," Evan stood up and began to walk backwards, "I do not like her. I like her but not like that but as a really good friend. Eve, you really know how to mix things up. I do not –" And down he went, falling back over a trash can knocking it over.

Eve laughed away as Evan immediately got back on his two feet. He dusted off any dirt on him and looked back at Eve, "I don't like her – remember that?"

Eve smiled, "I'll keep it under wraps Evan."

"And may I ask what are you so happy about Miss Torres?"

There it went again, her heart beating like a wild animal when he decided to show up, "I was just laughing – can't a girl laugh here and there?"

"I was just asking," Cody strolled over to her, "So what are you doing here all by yourself? Are you cutting class again? Eve, do we have to have that talk again?"

"What talk?"

"The talk about if you don't get an education, you will not have a future."

"You sound like my dad," The Latina suddenly chuckled, "But don't worry, I'll be going to class and getting my education so I will have a future."

"Well other than bothering you, I actually came here to ask you something," Cody glanced at the ground as he was getting a bit nervous, "I wanted to know if you were busy tonight because I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out for a little bit?"

"You mean a date?"

"If you want to call it that, fine by me."

Heart heating like woodpecker pecking onto the bark of a tree, Eve tried to keep her calm and relaxed. She looked once more up at him, ready to give him an answer, "My answer is yes. It's a date."

**X__x__x__x__X**

Upon lying on his comfortable couch – where he had not moved from for the past hour, Randy enjoyed those moments after work where he could just lay on the couch and catch up on what's happening with the world while the smell of Stacy's lamb chops filled the air. The remote was glued to his hand until someone smacked it out of his hand and onto the ground.

"Hey – I need that if I want to see how the Chargers are doing," Randy looked at the ground to see a shoe stepped over his precious remote control and applied pressure, "Please don't do anything to hurt the remote control. It doesn't deserve it."

"Oh please don't get up sweetie. Just relax and make yourself comfortable while I slave myself in the kitchen to make you a meal. Don't help just put your feet up, rest and watch your stupid television," Stacy lifted the remote up and tossed it onto his stomach, causing him to growl in pain.

It was a message and a pretty simple one to understand, "I'm getting up – I'll set the table or something. I get it."

Mrs. Orton was extremely pleased at this point, once Randy began to follow her into the kitchen. Randy headed for the cabinets to grab a few dishes, "Use the red ones – Emily and Connor are staying at my parents for the night which gives us the night to ourselves."

As two dishes rested in his hands, a smirk came across his face, "So they'll be gone – I see. I wonder what we'll probably do because we know what we do when the kids are gone right?"

"I'm not sure – could you refresh my memory," Randy placed the plates down and walked over to Stacy and stood behind her before his strong arms came around her slender waist.

"Well, we'll do a little this," He launched a few kisses on her neck, the spot where she was most ticklish, "Then maybe we'll do a little this, "He took his fingers and started to pull the shirt off of her shoulder, "And then we'll probably cap the night when I do –"

"Save it tiger."

"Alright – but you're the one who is going to regret not getting any early piece of this," Randy proceeded to point out his body, "a little bit earlier than expected."

"And you'll be the one who will be responsible for ruining my world class dinner I have been preparing for you. I got this recipe out of a magazine and I knew you'd love it," Stacy smiled, "You're very lucky to have such a wonderful wife like me."

"But wait – you're much luckier to have me," Upon his comment, he began to lean on the counter, "How'd you get your parents to take the kids? They just had them this past week and they are already having them again."

"Mom was actually thrilled to take them – surprisingly," Stacy mixed up some of the food on the pan before she turned over to Randy, "Speaking of Kids, I really wanted to talk to you about something – involving kids."

"What is it?"

"I went to the doctor recently and remember how they said I would have trouble having children? The doctor says my chance is growing again to have another baby but that it won't stay like that for long – maybe only a couple months and then it will go back to being very difficult so I was hoping we could talk about having another baby," It was the news she wanted to speak to him about and the very news she made this whole dinner for.

"Oh – about that," A sour look appeared on his face and he already had his opinion on this situation. He was just unclear on how Stacy would take his decision, "I understand you want more children but think about it – we already have two kids and you don't think that's enough?"

Though she expected the opposite of this, Stacy just couldn't exactly pin point why Randy was saying all of this. Her husband had expressed interest as of lately to have one, "You're mind changed quickly."

"I didn't change – I just realized the facts."

"How?"

"Through a story," Said Randy, "I heard a story that there was a nice couple with two children but the wife wanted to have one more and they did. All it led to was problems and more mistakes and eventually they got divorced. I don't want that to happen to us now. I want us to be happy and nothing like that to happen."

Coming forward, Stacy took Randy's hand, "Who says that's going to happen? It might be different for us and wouldn't you like another son or daughter. Just imagine how happy we'll be. Don't just immediately assume what will happen."

"I can't help it – that story – it freaked me out."

"Where the hell did you hear this story from?"

"I heard it at Work – Dawn told me," Once that name came through Randy's lips, Stacy came to a halt. That name, the woman wasn't exactly trustworthy in her opinion.

"You heard it from her?" The tone she presented the words in wasn't pleasing nor showed that she was exactly thrilled. Dawn wasn't exactly her piece of cake – that's for sure, "How can you just believe what she said? I don't think that girl is exactly all there."

"She got emotional and it was her sister who it all happened too – How can't you believe that?"

"Randy –"

She couldn't get in a word because she got interrupted by him, "No Stace – that's it. I told you my part of the story and I explained how I feel about it. I'm happy with life at this moment and I'm not willing to change anything. Life is perfect and I don't want to do anything to jeopardize it."

"But don't you hear me? Don't you hear what I'm saying? This could be one of my only chances and you just keep shooting it down."

"Stacy, the answer's no and that's it," Randy released Stacy's hand, storming out of the kitchen in a bit of a fury. Completely surprised by this whole thing, she wasn't mad at Randy. She was just mad with Dawn. The girl was putting words into this heads – mix and matching around his thoughts. There was something that just wasn't exactly right with Dawn. The devious West Beverly secretary was up to something.

**X__x__x__x__X**

It was D-day – Phil was about to hear the charges that will be pressed against him. The Judge was present, along with a few lawyers and police officers while Kelly sat way in the back with other bodies scattered all around the courtroom. Maria wasn't too far off. She was right in the front and she was just disappointed at what had happened with Phil. Kelly was extremely surprised to even see that they were together after this whole thing.

What even surprised Kelly even more was when Ted out of nowhere came into the courtroom and took a seat right in front of Kelly. Ted came for one reason and one reason only – to make sure his name doesn't get called out today and like what Chris promised, that it would happen.

"Phil Brooks, you are being charged for illegal Drug Possession and illegal drug marketing. How do you plead?"

"Not Guilty."

"Now," The Judge spoke, "You are aware that if you plead not guilty and is decided that you are guilty, your punishment for the crime will increase from ten years to fifteen years? Are you aware?"

"Yes your honor – I am aware of it. I am not going to leave here till I am proven innocent for my crimes."

"Mr. Brooks you are aware the chances of that you will lose the case? Are you sure that you want to change your plea?"

"No you're honor."

"As you wish," The Judge took his files and rose, "Mr. Phil Brooks, you will be placed in Police Custody until tomorrow morning until Next Thursday where our courtcase will resume and you're sentencing will begin," He quickly filed out of the room following the departure of Phil, with two police officers on each side.

Ted was relieved. He had nothing to worry about now but just to keep low and avoid Phil when he is released tomorrow. All of this will all be worth it – not just yet but soon. The former employee of Phil Brooks quickly scrambled away out of the courtroom.

As other began to depart, Kelly sat their knowing that Phil's Life was practically over. Not literally, but once you go to Jail, what life do you have? She rose and found her way outside of the courtroom, to come into contact with a certain redhead.

Her arms crossed and an annoyed look on her face, "Phil told me you would have came here – and he was right."

"I'm sorry about Phil –"

"Hold it Blondie – first of all, I don't even like you mainly because of your stupid Sister and second – Phil came clean. He told me about how you kept bothering him and stalking him. It's ridiculous. Have you nothing better else to do but stalk my poor husband? And not only that, you asked to have sex several times?"

The lies had flowed through her mouth and Kelly couldn't exactly believe how Phil was throwing her under the bus and not telling Maria the truth, "Listen, that's not true. Not one bit of it."

"Yeah – like I'm going to believe you – I didn't know sluts started off so young," She turned on her heel and began to walk away.

Irritated by Phil's lies, Kelly really thought of how much of a conniving liar Phil was. He lied about the whole thing – and who knows what else he lied to her about and Kelly wasn't going to let Maria just get away like that, "Oh Maria, we had sex already. It wasn't me who asked but the other way around."

Maria turned right back around, eyes glaring right at Kelly, "What?"

"Oh you know you heard me. And it's funny how he had to find it in a girl that was so much younger and better looking than you. Get the story straight."

As much as Maria wanted to go over there and rip the blonde hair off the girl, she composed herself and instead, decided to go and find Phil and have a little 'chat' with him.

She felt validated and clean. Phil was done and over with. It was the past and she just had to look forward to the future from this point on. This was Evan was talking about – and she decided he deserved to know what happened. She grabbed her phone and sent him a quick text.

_I just wanted to let you know, everything is done with Phil. I'll explain later. Kel x_

Once it had sent, the sound of sobs had caught her off guard. She quietly followed it to a brown bench that was right outside a small court room. Kelly began to walk forward, approaching the young girl, "I don't mean to get involved but are you okay?"

When it was revealed, Kelly gasped. The teary-eyed girl grabbed a napkin and began to pat down on her eyes, soaking up the tears that were still falling, "I don't need anyone right now," Her face crashed back in her hands.

Kelly slid onto the brown bench and tried to get a word from the deeply sadden girl, "Maryse, I know we haven't been exactly best friends but I kills me," Even Kelly couldn't believe she was cared about Maryse, "it kills me to see you in pain. What happened and why are you in a courtroom?"

"My parent's divorce hearing was today – it's still going on and I can't bear to hear them argue anymore."

"You'll be fine," Kelly smiled, "I know you and you'll get through this. Remember when Timothy McGrady started that huge rumor on you and remembered you got through it and you actually got back at him."

"Well, he did deserved to be humiliated and if it involves a blow up sex doll," Maryse's frown had finally turned into a small smirk, "I can't believe I got a picture of him with that thing."

"I don't even know how you did it."

"A great magician never reveals her secrets," Maryse smirked before her arms came across Kelly, "Thanks for the cheering up Kel – I actually missed this but I had to turn into a total bitch on you."

"No you didn't…. well, you did but I'm willing to forgive," They remained attached and Maryse could feel some comfort and Kelly could finally pull away from Phil and the crap that had come along with him.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Not a clue arose in her little mind on where exactly Cody was taking her that night. He directed his car down this empty road that was heading up a pretty steep hill. No light in sight, no sign of life – it was just pretty dead and quiet around this part.

"You're not secretly going to murder me or something? Because, I would have to say that would really suck if that happened. You didn't even give me much of a chance to look good before I am violently murdered," Always keeping the whole mood of the situation fun, Eve poked some fun at herself, "But seriously, are we close by to where we have to go?"

"We are just about to pull up," Cody turned his car onto the side of the dirt road. Once putting the car in park, Cody turned over and grabbed the bag he had there, "Let's get ready to go."

As the two exited the car, Eve noticed how dark it was and how cold it was – thank god she brought a sweater, "Please tell me you have some sort of light. I could use the light from my cell phone to help us out."

Cody whipped out a flashlight, turning it on, "Your phone isn't exactly going to guide us through this. That's why I brought a flashlight – now come on."

The pair walked on the grassy ground, with only a sound of some crickets and hoots every now and then. The stomping of their feet on the ground broke a few thin branches and dirt was getting scattered onto Eve's sandals, "Well, I picked the wrong day to wear some sandals."

"But this will all be worth it in the end."

"It better be worth it –"

And when she said those little words, she really realized it was going to be worth it. More than just worth it especially when she saw the huge 'H' standing before her, followed by the phrase "ollywood." Her eyes traced the huge sign and soon lead to the huge view of the city of Los Angeles right at the palm of her hands. Her eyes gazed over the lights emulating from the skyscrapers and the passing little cars as well. Eve Torres had never seen something so beautiful than this. It was a view that just took her breath away.

"This is so beautiful," Her eyes focused onto the view, "It's amazing."

"I knew you'd like this."

"Cody, this is just so beautiful. I mean, you have the whole view of the city," There it went again, her heart thumping away finding something completely amazing about Cody, "I can't believe we even got up here. I'm pretty sure it's illegal or something."

"Some people get special passes to get up here – and some of those people are my family so that explains how we got here with no problem."

Eve continued to gaze over the view until she thought that this time would be the perfect time to just admit her feelings for him. Not an interruption in sight nor any kind of distraction to ruin this moment. Eve watched as Cody dropped down his things while she just smiled away. Cody could see the big smile that took over Eve's face, "So you're happy."

"I've never seen something like this before. This view, this scenery – just everything," Eve titled her head away, "And now, I feel like I can finally talk to you about something – something that has just been eating me."

Cody stood over by her side, as their orbs enjoyed the view, "I'm all ears."

Her eye's hit the floor, as she began to scrub on it while collecting dirt on the bottom of her shoes, "Why must this be so complicated? I just don't get it."

"What could be so complicated about your feelings for me?"

She thought for a second on how did he know? Her head titled over to him, with a bit of a shocked expression on her face, "How'd you know?"

"A little bird told me also known as Kelly," Cody smirked away, "She told me how you were having so much trouble just trying to tell me and how we always had an interruption before you were about to say it but even now, you see to have so much trouble minus all of that. Why?"

"It's because of Maryse. That why this whole thing has been tough. She warned me that I couldn't date any of her ex's or I'd lose her as a friend but gain an enemy. I didn't want that but then, I still wanted you. You're all that I can think about. Every time you've came around – even that first day I met you – my heart had been going crazy. I like you, I really do but I fear of losing my friendship," Finally, she had gotten everything off her chest.

"Eve, I feel the same exact way. I want to be with you but I feel she'll cause something to bring a strain on it," He mumbled away, "But, I thought about it. I care so much more for you than I do for her. Why should I care if I hurt her? I just want to be happy and if that's with you, than what am I suppose to do?"

"Cody, if we both feel that way – then we shouldn't do anything. We should just keep this under wraps and act like it never happened."

"How can I just hide my feelings like that?" He had asked her, "If I feel some way for a girl, I can't just put them away and make them disappear like that. It doesn't work like that and never will work like that. Eve, I want to be with you – but no one else. I don't care my Maryse has to say or anyone else."

"It's far more complicated than that."

"It's not – let me ask you, would you care if your friend went out with your ex?"

"I'd just want to talk to her and make sure everything is okay," Eve answered, "Why?"

"Because we'll do that. We can talk to Maryse and make her understand us," Cody's plan was to get Maryse to agree with Eve and his's relationship, "Because I'm willing to do just about anything just so I can have you."

"You mean that?"

"Every word I said I meant it. Not word was a lie but it was nothing but the truth. Eve, I want to be with you," As Cody said those magically words, he leaned in closer to Eve's lips before locking the up with his. It was what Eve was waiting for all this time and this time had finally come. Her arms wrapped up around his neck while his hands pulled her closer to him by the waist. This was a kiss she just couldn't describe but it was that kiss, with that feeling you know that it was right and nothing every felt so right then this.

* * *

**A/N:** Big chapter here :) Yay, Finally Cody and Eve :) Who's happy?  
Next chapter is going to be a big one - and i mean big, a lot of important things are going to happen involving many characters.  
So please leave a nice review and don't forget to check out the next chapter.  
Here's a few clues of what's going to happen:  
Someone we have yet to see is coming back, Someone is blackmailed, Someone sees something she should and someone comes clean about something.  
What could this all be? ;) Find out in the next chapter!


	10. For Your Entertainment

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Ten_ - For Your Entertainment

There was radiance spilling through her smile that Thursday morning. Normally, this doesn't exactly happen but since the White Bright Winter Ball was tomorrow night and Eve Torres had plans to be attending that night – not empty handed.

"It is absolutely going to be a wonderful night Kel. Even though Maryse is going to be there, we are going to keep it low key and just enjoy ourselves for once," That smile could stretch for miles and miles, "Why don't you come Kel? It will be fun."

"I would but I just don't want too. I'm going to go see my Mom for Christmas break so I might as well get packing up on that," She gently brought her finger up to move her bangs to each appropriate side, "Plus, with the whole thing with Phil. I just don't the will to go. I'm just going to call it a movie night, grab some ice cream and just cry my eyes out while watching 'A Walk to Remember' for the ninety ninth time."

"Phil's in Jail. He's gone and long gone. You'll never see him again and that whole thing is past you. Maybe this dance could be something to take your mind of the whole thing. Dance a little, meet a guy. Oh – take Evan. I think he wants to go!" The sound in Eve's voice raised suspicion from Kelly's point.

"First of all, he's not going. Second, why did you sound so excited when you said I should go with Evan?"

"Oh look it's Maryse!"

Eve immediately pointed out the French platinum blonde grabbing her books, preparing for class. Maryse notice how oddly it was to hear Eve so peachy this early in the morning, "How many sugars did you put in your latte this morning? I feel like you tripled from your usual two."

"I'm trying to convince Kelly to go to the Winter Ball," Her eyes moved over to look at Kelly, preparing for Round two of convincing, "Kelly, I hope you do come. So what if you don't exactly go with a guy but we'll be there and you'll have so much fun."

"I'm in the dateless club too. No guy has asked me and I kind of don't want anyone to ask me. Ever since the whole Cody thing," Eve took down a huge gulp before she continued on, "I haven't been able to find anyone. Maybe single life is the way for me. Who are you going with Eve?"

"Well, uh," Eve took the moment to think about just spitting it out of her mouth and just telling Maryse the truth, "Well, Cody asked me to go – but just as friends. Not as anything else but friends. I – I hope you don't m-mind."

"Me?" Maryse forcefully uttered a fake laugh at Eve, "I'm fine. You guys are just friends and nothing else. I know you wouldn't date him or anything because friends do not date each other's friends. That's like written in the bible that you don't do that."

For the sake of Eve, Kelly budged in and took control of the conversation, "So I'm coming now. Don't you guys worry – I will definitely be there," a playful giggle erupted from Kelly, "So I have to go and talk to my sister. I'll see you guys later and please play nice."

She frolicked away and without a single knock or warning, Kelly barged into her Sister's office to find her staring out the window looking onto the football field. Kelly gently closed the door, hoping not to alert her in the wrong way. Kelly gracefully placed her tote bag onto a chair and crossing her arms.

"Please tell me you're checking out some really hot dude because to be honest, this looks really creepy. Are you staring at AJ?"

"Don't say that name," Her tone was vulgar and not at all pleasant. It sounded nothing like her and this was where her little sister grew concern, "Not even for what it stands for; just don't mention it."

She stepped over and approached her sister by her side. Her hand launching over her shoulder, gently turning her to face her, "Something is wrong and not telling anymore isn't helping; what happened? What does it have to do with AJ?"

"You wouldn't understand Kel."

"How would I not? I'm your sister and when something is wrong, I am here to help you. Now just tell me what's the matter," The younger blonde tightly gripped onto her older sister's smooth hand and reassuring look to help convey Torrie to speak.

"Remember the last time I went out on a date with AJ?" She nodded quickly in response, "We kissed after and at that very moment, I felt something. This feeling – it was so strong and it was coming over me," The tone from Torrie's voice continued to get much more serious, "It was something I hadn't felt since John."

Putting all these pieces together, Kelly was well aware of the situation with her sister and AJ, "This explains so much."

"That's why I went away – I needed to recollect my thoughts. I needed assurance that this might be the right thing but I still don't know. It's like I know I can move on, but when the time comes to really move on – I'm not ready. I don't want to face it."

"You have to face it," As a sister, Kelly had a job to help out her sister with words of advice, "You need to move on. It's hard, I can see it. But you can't hold onto something that just may not be there forever. AJ is forever, John is gone."

Torrie's teeth grazed her lower lip as Kelly's words traveled through her mind. Right and Wrong; she wasn't just one but both.

"I don't know."

"Just think Torrie – think about the whole thing and I know you'll make the right decision."

And Kelly grabbed her bag and dragged her feet out of her office. Once gone, Torrie took a seat on the leather chair and pulled out a picture. Photographed was John – with a sweet smile on right on the beach. Her smile turned sour, as her hands firmly pulled out of the wooden cabinet and rested the photograph upon a set of old files.

**X__x__x__x__X**

His slick black and red motorcycle rested in a parking spot right outside of the doors of school. Ted flicked on his aviators as he walked over to his motorbike. The moment he was about to put his helmet on, the sudden vibration emerged in his front jean pocket. He dug deep into his pocket to retrieve the black cell phone. It was private.

"Hello," He answered in an angry and moody tone.

"Theodore, now is that how you answer the phone? So rude and not even a nice hello or a hey how are you Chris. Nothing."

"Chris, what the hell do you want from me?" Now his tone was much vulgar than before now that he has a clear cut picture on who he is talking too, "Haven't you bothered me enough with your antics?"

"Have a little fun kid but I calling with some good news for you. This is actually one of those calls that matter so listen, kid. Keep those ears wide open."

"Better me good."

"It's wonderful news my man," Chris announced with a little charm to it and holding the anticipation as well, "You'll be happy to hear that Phil has been officially sentenced and he'll be having his first Christmas at State Prison."

"Yay." His one word response had never been so sarcastic than before.

"Wow, don't get all excited and pop open a bottle of champagne now," Joked the Detective, "With him in prison now, we obtain all the evidence to find his other partners so now we've stopped a whole ring of drug dealers from dealing no more."

Ted immediately froze. Chris double crossed him. Chris lied. He betrayed him. He should have never trusted him.

"The whole ring except you."

He snapped back before he realized just what exactly had happened, "Say that again."

"You've got nothing to worry about man. When we found evidence of all of Phil's employees and all their records and in total we found fifteen people. Lucky for you, It will only be thirteen. I eliminated your evidence. It's gone and no way to retrieve it. I am a man of my word and you did what you had to do and it came time for me to do what I had to do," Ted paused and not a peep came out of him for a moment, "You can say Thank you now."

Ted wasn't one to be 'nice' or to say something like thank you. It just wasn't in his blood but for once, he was going to break down that little wall and just say it, "Thanks Chris."

"Don't mention it. Now next time, I won't be here to save you so don't get into any trouble man. I won't be there, rushing to save you so stay out of trouble alright?"

"Okay – I won't."

His hand brought the phone down and hanging up the phone and sliding it back into his jean pocket. With this now in his past, he somewhat had a new outlook. Not exactly brand new but a little different from his old one he previously possessed.

His aviators came down and it was replaced with his dark helmet. He hopped on board his motorbike and began to toy with the engine before he went full speed out of the parking lot, leaving a path of dust and dirt on the streets and a particular blonde.

The particles of dirt dashed onto her legs, that weren't conceal due to the short length of her vibrant purple skirt. The dust went as high as striking her neatly assembled blonde curls and some into her eyes. Maryse reached up and rubbed out the dirt out of her eyes. Once it was out, Maryse caught a glimpse of the man speeding away but not a well enough one.

"What an ass. This dirt got into my hair," She combed out her curls using her fingers hoping to get any of it out, "I can't believe him."

Eve, who was not too far behind, saw the blonde suddenly stopped, "Maryse, what happened? You're feet is covered in dirt," she asked Maryse.

"Some idiot sped away and some dirt came on me – it ruined my dress."

"Come on, I'll take you home and you can change," Reluctantly, Eve got into her car with Maryse in the passenger seat. Eve managed to pull out of the parking lot and headed straight down the street, straight on concourse to Maryse's home.

"So, I've been meaning to talk to you," Maryse shattered the ice between the two, "I wanted to ask you something."

Not a clue emerged in her mind on what exactly Maryse was going to ask her.

"Is it about that dress you're planning on wearing? I already said I don't like it so I say don't wear it."

"It's not that – though you didn't have to remind me that you don't like the dress of my choice," She extend her arm and lowered the radio down, "It's about Cody."

Once she mentioned his name, Eve applied press on the gas but lowered it back down so she doesn't create a ruckus, "What about Cody?"

"I wanted to ask you why you decided to go to the dance with him. I mean, there are plenty of other guys that would want to go with you but why do you want to go with Cody? Is it because.."

"Maryse, if you think I like having him as a friend," A lie wasn't exactly the best way but Eve's plan to tell Maryse about her and Cody's relationship wasn't going to be told all by herself, " You're right. He's a lot of fun and I can see why you fell for him."

"I thought you actually liked him," A sigh of relief emerged from Maryse along with a smirk, "I mean, you got so defensive when you told me that you were just going with him so I thought that maybe.."

"Nope – we're just really good friends," Eve pulled up at the gas station, beside a gas pump, "I'm just going to throw some gas in the car and I'll take you home. I'll be right back."

The Latina began to stomp away and into the little store to pay for the gas. Maryse placed the radio back on and felt relief. A chime from Eve's phone rang and Maryse looked at her phone, and who texted her? The man they were just speaking about.

Temptation emerged to open the text message that Cody had sent. It was invasion of her privacy and if this was her phone she wouldn't want this to happen. But that didn't even stop her when she took the phone and opened the text message.

_Hope you're not busy tonight. I got these tickets to the Lakers game and I was hoping that my beautiful girlfriend would like to join me. Give me a call - Cody_

It was like a smashing ball just crashing through her chest and crushing her soul into pieces. He was moving on and Eve lied. Sinking down into her seat, Maryse was flabbergasted and appalled. No one lies to her like this or makes her a fool. Eve wasn't going to have the last laugh but now that she finally knows, Maryse wasn't going to let that happen.

No one betrays Maryse like that.

**X__x__x__x__X**

The sweet Blonde rested her notebook on her lap as her biology textbook laid on the bench before her in the midst of completely her final biology assignment prior to the nice two week break that was in store for the students of West Beverly.

This Year, Kelly was going to spend the holiday in Las Vegas with her Mom. Due to custody issues, Kelly is limited to seeing her mother only a few times a year.

A hand came waving over her notebook, blocking the view from her paper, "There is a reason why homework has the word home in it. It's meant to be done at home and not at school."

She laughed at his teasing, "Evan, I spend half my day here at school so it is practically my home, so I'm not exactly breaking any rule like that. Plus, I was watching this really cool movie last night so I couldn't exactly do my homework."

"Ah yes, some sad chick flick over your education. Every sixteen year old's decision."

As Kelly expected, Evan would always toss a little joke into his words and it always managed to put a smile on her face – a little more than before.

"Did I tell you what happened with Phil? It's good news," He nodded in return, "Phil is done and over with. He's in Jail and isn't getting out for a long time. I haven't been this happy in such a long time – I swear. I'm glad he's gone. All he did was cause trouble and toy with my heart."

Evan nodded firmly and was satisfied to hear that Kelly had finally been done and over with Phil. Maybe this was now the right time, the right time that he finally unveil his true feelings for her. That have been held in for so long and it should be right about time to let everything out.

But what if she didn't feel the same way for him? That very question was constantly repeated in his mind. If she didn't feel the same way for him, it could make their friendship so awkward and weird. Evan didn't want to find out – so maybe it's best that he just keeps it to himself and hopefully this crush goes away.

But how long does it take for a crush that's lasted more than a year to simply disappear?

You can't exactly wish it away or just stop. It's far more complicated than that – this is love we are talking about her, not something you toss in the garbage. But his heart could be tossed right into the garbage if Kelly doesn't feel the same way.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that. It's a huge sigh of relief here. I was thinking that it would be hard for you to let this whole thing go. I saw how you felt for him. It's not easy letting it go like that."

"It was easy in a sense. That day I went to court, Maria, his girlfriend stepped up to me and Phil told her I was nothing but a stalker but the truth was, he was nothing but a liar. Lie after lie and I fell for it all," Kelly spoke in a bleak tone, "Then again, he was twice my age and what he was doing was pretty illegal. I'm even disgusted I was doing this all."

"It's over with – that's all that matters."

"And I made a mistake, a huge one but that's why we make them in the first place – so we can learn from them and I learned a lot from this whole thing."

He smiled with a very proud smile. Happy that she had learned a important lesson in life. Life is full of choices, some mistakes, some not but whatever the choice was, you learn from it and become a better person in the process.

"And I was hoping that maybe we could celebrate this," A thought came to Kelly's mind concerning a possible celebration for her, "Celebrate this new found place that I am in my life. No more stupid mistakes like that. I want to start fresh and with the dance coming up tonight, why don't you and I go?"

That smile that was previous covered over his face and got even larger than before. His cheeks turned into a light bright red before he turned his head away, "Ah, I don't know Kel. I mean, I would like too but –"

"Come on – it will be fun plus I left you at homecoming and I felt so horrible. This could be my way of making it up to you so you have to come with me," A pout emerged across her lips, "Please Evan, for me?"

She pouted even more and it just pushed him further and closer to saying yes, "Okay, I'll go," She cheered, "But only because it's with you. I wouldn't go with anyone else but you."

It surprised him when she tossed her arms across his neck and proceeded to apply pressure. It was a hug. He was getting a hug. The smell of strawberries emerged through her blonde locks. It was a position Evan just didn't want to release her from. If it was possible, he wished her could just stay like this for say – all of his life? That sounds just about right. His smile was larger than life itself.

"I'm just so happy that you're coming," She began to release him from her hold, "It's going to be a lot of fun," Kelly grabbed his hand and stood up, "How does lunch sound right about now? I'd like to go grab some food and you can help me on my near impossible biology homework."

She tugged on his arm and soon got him up as the two headed off to the lunchroom to grab some lunch. A figure appeared from behind the bushes where the bench the two were sitting on was. The female had some surprising news she'd never expect to her. A slick smile curved across her lips with this very powerful information in her possession.

**X__x__x__x__X**

The evening had soon arrived and the entire school gymnasium was turned into an entire winter wonderland. White was the color of choice for the night. A white carpet led the attendees into the gym along with snowflakes falling from the ceiling, thanks to some special effects. The DJ got the music started with something low beat that would be sure to excel in the near future.

Eve chose a white elegant strapless white dress that went beautiful with her silver pumps and long gold brown curly waves. On her arm, she didn't carry some jewelry but a different piece of arm candy – her date, Cody who matched the Brunette evenly with a white suit.

As the pair walked through, they were greeted by the snowflakes flying down on them. Some manage to stick onto their hair. They stopped short at the end of the carpet as Eve placed her hand out and caught a few of the snowflakes.

"This is probably the only chance I'll ever see snow in Beverly Hills," As the snowflakes collected themselves onto her palm, she blew them off onto the ground, "It's so beautiful in here."

"Just like Homecoming, West Beverly doesn't displease anyone at these parties. They make it the best and most realistic out of them all," Commented Cody, "They even put the whole red carpet to make the whole Hollywood theme to it.

Following their entrance, Maryse was the next person to walk down the carpet. As usual, she made it look like she owned the place and was better than every person in the room. Her cocky smile turned into a fake once her eyes came draw upon the happy couple. She strutted down toward the pair as wrapped hooked her arms right in between them.

"You guys look so adorable together!" If that wasn't fake, what was then? Maryse jittered on, "I swear, when Eve told me you two were going as friends I thought she was lying to me and that you too really liked each other but she explained the whole thing."

"Eve told you?" He cocked his eyebrow at his girlfriend.

"Yeah – we were talking about it in the car and I'm completely fine that you guys are here, just as friends."

Eve remained silent before Cody decided to speak up, "Maryse, if you don't mind I'd just like to talk to Eve for just a second," He asked, "I just want to talk to her quickly."

It wasn't rocket science to see that Cody was clearly upset about something. The duo eventually exited the gymnasium and found an empty classroom to so Cody could speak to Eve. As Eve remained silent for the time being, Cody disrupted the silence, "You told her we were going together? Why would you say that?"

"I just thought she should know. I mean, she was going to see us anyway so what's the big deal," The Latina saw no problem in telling Maryse that she was Cody's date, "It's not like she thinks we are going out."

"But it could give her the idea? Maryse isn't stupid. We had agreed that we'd go together in secrecy and avoid telling anyone. Now Maryse knows and she could be thinking that something maybe up between us," All he tried to point out was the ways that Maryse could find about the two.

"I understand and maybe you're right. She could be onto us," With those words, Eve crossed her arms, "Cody, we should just tell her already. She already knows we came here together and it could be giving her a clue that we are together. I say we tell her," A silent pause emerged with only the sound of Eve swallowing a huge gulp, "We should tell her tonight – tonight at the dance."

Well, the truth about Eve and Cody had to come out sooner or later? It has already been a few weeks that their relationship has continued behind the scenes. Why not make it public right now? Maryse had a right to know. Concealing this is not the right thing to do.

"I always wanted to tell her but are you sure? Tonight?"

"Cody, you just said she may have an idea. She right now might be speculating about us. It's tonight or never. I hate holding this on my conscious. Maryse is my friend and friends don't hide secrets from one another," As mean as Maryse can be, as rude and as selfish, she was still her friend.

"We'll tell her after the dance," Cody took Eve's hand, before a smirk curved onto his lips, "Don't I just have the best girlfriend in the world? Sweet, kind and beautiful – could I ask for anymore?"

Eve was flattered. Her hand came up to his jacket and she took it in her grip, "And I am just as lucky to have such a wonderful boyfriend," She laid a kiss on his tender lips before pulling pack with a smile, "And soon, I hope I can just do this in public – with Maryse watching and everyone else."

"That will be here before you know it."

Eve hooked her arm onto Cody's and they exited the classroom. Once their images disappeared, a figure appeared from against the locker. Maryse emerged and she caught a glimpse of the two of them in their lovely pose. It was time to play fire with fire.

It was time to give Eve, a taste of her own medicine.

**X__x__x__x__X**

_This is definitely was a good idea to go._

For once, Kelly was given a reason to smile. Nothing to worry about for once and just being able to have a good time – something the blonde wasn't lucky enough to have in the past.

The sound her heels had been making filled up the air along with the white corset top, complete with matching skirt. All of her soft blonde hair rested on one side in a mess of curls.

Tonight was going to be a good night – until Alicia came on through, with the cocky little smile on her face.

"This is the winter dance. I think Strip Club is that way sweetie," Alicia dangled her finger into another directon before breaking out into some laughter. Kelly responded with rolling her eyes. She wanted no part in listening at this girl's trash talk.

"Funny – I heard an elephant escaped from the zoo and I think I found it," Kelly responded with some classy trash talk right back at the devil in human form. Disgust embodied Alicia's face, "So now that's over with – if you'll excuse me, Evan's waiting for me."

Kelly stomped her way by Alicia, "Are you sure you're meeting with Evan? I could have sworn you were going to meet with that thirty something year old drug dealer and have a little fun with him."

Right at the very moment, Kelly stood frozen in that position. Alica's revelation had left the blonde absolutely stunned, "What?" was all Kelly could respond with at the moment.

"Sweetie, you know you heard me," The foxy little lady walked back toward Kelly, facing her, "I know about you and that guy. You two were sleeping with each other. Ugh, that is just disgusting Kelly. How could you sink so low? How could you do that? I think I've found out who West Beverly's newest whore is."

"Alicia, please don't say anything."

"Or what? Why should I do any favor for you? I was never your friend. I never liked you or will like you. I just can't put my finger on what exactly I should help you. Could you maybe explain to me why I should keep my mouth shut?"

She took a moment to collect her thoughts, hoping her kind words could maybe persuade Alicia to change her mind, "Please don't do it. I wouldn't do it to you – no matter how much I disliked you. Alicia, promise me you won't say anything – please."

"Maybe I will – maybe I won't."

"Alicia, I'm begging you. Please don't say anything to anyone."

"By leaving this dance, you can keep my mouth shut," Alicia answered with her hands on her hips, "Just leave now. No one has seen you yet so get going."

"But Evan – I don't want to leave Evan."

"I'll give him the message. Just get lost."

Kelly's mind began to throw images of Evan, waiting for her at the entrance, at her. It crushed her that was had to do this yet again to him. Someone like him didn't deserve it but if she wanted to keep this all under wraps, she couldn't go. Kelly turned on her heel and began to walk away – walking away from yet another conflict of hers.

**X__x__x__x__X**

It was a quiet night for Torrie – the moment she put down Ella and Nathan for the night, was the moment she finally got some peace and quiet. Quietly and slowly, Torrie shut the door to Nathan's room and left the child to get some much needed rest.

A sudden knock on the door frightened her. It was near eleven at night and all she could think of was who could be knocking at her door at this hour? Her hand reached for the golden knob, turning it and was out of breath the moment she opened it up to see who was standing outside her door.

"AJ…"

"May I come in?"

She hesitated, "Sure, come on in," She welcomed him inside. AJ Slowly entered inside and headed into the living room as Torrie shut the door. Her steps brought him closer to him, "So what brings you around here?"

"Is that all you seriously have to say Torrie?" The individual was clearly upset and his vulgar tone was just saying it all, "That's all you have to say after not seeing me for about over a month? Just what brings you around here?"

Torrie played with her soft curly locks while her eyes could not make contact with AJ's furious ones. When she finally did, she saw a much different side of AJ, "I'm sorry about that. I really am – I just needed some time for myself. I needed to recollect my thoughts and set everything straight. I don't know what else to say AJ."

"Maybe for starters you can tell me why you just left town for a while? Why you've been ignoring me every chance you get? You've been avoiding me and not speaking to me at all – ever since the night I kissed you."

"Please don't mention it, please."

"Why Torrie? Why not? Can't you just admit it?"

Her feelings for AJ were clear and present but to reveal it and finally move on was the most difficult part of them all. The mother of two just couldn't exactly bring herself to say the words she wanted to say but AJ wasn't going anywhere until she finally says something. Torrie gazed in the furious eyes of AJ and took a deep breath.

"Torrie, I'm waiting? Why can't you just admit it? Did that kiss we have still flashing in your mind."

" It's because –" Torrie mumbled out her words before facing him directly, "It's because that night we kissed, that feeling I got in the middle of that kiss – I never had a feeling like that ever since John. No one was able to make me feel the way I felt about him until you showed up and I got that same feeling I got the very last time I ever saw John. It's all because I really feel that maybe I'm moving on but I don't want too."

"I didn't know –"

"I'm not finished," Torrie rudely interrupted, "You for once made me feel human again. Ever since John's been gone, I've had an empty spot in my heart and you're filling that void. I've never felt this way since John and you brought that back. You brought that all back. You returned to me what I was needing."

"And that was?"

"Love – you gave me back love. You gave me a chance to finally love someone again. You gave me that chance to let the past be what is was and just move on," She shut her eyes only to open them once more as a tear erupted, "You gave that all to me."

AJ stood motionless as the Blonde gently wiped her tear away from her cheek. In one instant motion, AJ took her in his hands and pulled her close to her. Lips were inches apart, they felt one another breath on each other's cheeks. AJ shut his eye and touched Torrie's lip with his moist ones.

For Torrie, this never felt so right then before. AJ carried Torrie onto Torrie's couch as they never once separated from their kiss – and their night carried on away.

**X__x__x__x__X**

The winter dance came to an end right after eleven o'clock. Eve, joined by her date and secretly her boyfriend took a walk outside the school. Eve's arm never once unhooked from Cody's as the pair walked side by side on the starry night. The gentle breeze came rolling by, lifting Eve's hair into the air.

"This night has been a blast. I couldn't have picked a better date than you," The Latina's head crashed onto Cody's shoulder for a moment and she quickly shot it back up, "Wait, I don't want to do that. Looks to suspicious and if Maryse sees us."

"Speaking about her, I saw her leave already. She's probably still here and this would be a good time to tell her," Cody kindly reminded Eve, "Remember how we are going to say this? Be kind, try not to get mad and tell her how we truly feel about each other."

"Let's hope this all goes well."

"I think I see her over there," His eyes looked into the distance and spotted a blonde by a vehicle, "And it doesn't look like she's alone – I think she's with someone."

"I wonder who?"

The closer they got, the more clear it was that Maryse was with a guy – someone they couldn't recognize since it was clear Maryse's lips with attached the mystery man. They saw a bulky man, strong body, blonde hair in a faux hawk shape. For Eve, he was getting more familiar until it just hit it right in the face.

"Maryse? Jack?"

Instantly, Maryse turned her body around with a cock grin as Jack stood their completely surprised to see Eve. They were total opposites in their case. Jack seemed surprised while Maryse saw this as amusing. She began to chuckle, while covering her mouth.

"Eve – oh god, Hey how are you?" He jittered out of his lips, "Me and Maryse were just.."

"Sucking the life out of each other? Sure looked like it."

It had hurt Eve a bit – that her friend was kissing her ex-boyfriend. Eve just turned to Maryse, who seemed to be having a total ball with this whole thing. Eve glared at the Blonde, "Maryse, can I have a word with you – in private?"

Her only response was a giggle before Eve walked her way and the two headed further down the parking lot. The moment they stopped, The French beauty just couldn't control her laughter, "Oh my god that was so funny. That look on your face was priceless," Maryse's laughter and happiness turned dim, "But I guess you know how it feels to have you're, quote on quote friend, making a move on your ex-boyfriend?"

And that's when it hit Eve. Maryse knew it all. Her secret was out, "You know about me and Cody? You knew everything? How? When?"

"I know and I saw. I read Cody's cute little text message to you yesterday and I saw you two in the classroom before the dance. You can't keep anything from me because in the end, I'll always find out – don't forget that!"

This really brought Maryse out in a different light. She was rude, self centered and nosy, "I can't believe you. I can't believe first you'd invade my privacy. If you had heard Cody and I talk about you, you'd know we were going to tell you. At least I don't just jump on anything with a pulse. We were going to tell you tonight even but now.."

"Too little too late – I told you Eve, never date a friend's ex – especially if it's Maryse Ouellet. It will be the worst mistake you would ever make. Because now, I am going to be your worst enemy," She had a little emphasis on enemy, "Eve, I can make your perfect little life an absolute living hell for you."

It just angered Eve so much on how Maryse was acting, "Seriously, you have a problem. You believe that you have so much power – that you own anything but you don't. You think as if this world is a game of chess and that you're the queen and you can do whatever you want."

"And you're the first person I'm going to take out."

Eve nodded in disgrace, "And to think I saw some good in you. There's not a good thing in you or about you. You're a manipulator. If you saw me and Cody, you could have came up to us and we would have maybe talked about this whole thing. We could have worked everything out."

"But this is way more fun," Maryse went back to giggling away, "This is entertainment to me. And now, since I'm going to make your life miserable I'm going to make sure you regret ever coming to this school and this town."

Eve had it up to here. She wasn't going to let Maryse just get away with all of that, "Bitch!" Eve launched her hand into the air and right across Maryse's delicate face. Maryse came crashing to the floor, holding onto her cheek as Eve stood up above her. One last look at Maryse and Eve turned away and went back in search for Cody.

Maryse sat on the ground, watching her newest enemy walk away. This fight was far from over – it was only the beginning.

**X__x__x__x__X**

"Don't worry – we've still got him!"

"We've got a pulse going – let's get him into ICU and we'll watch over him there."

Deep in the south pacific, a small military hospital took in an unknown man recently found. Doctors and Nurse began trying to bring the man back into consciousness and it finally worked. There was a pulse – there was a heartbeat – there was a chance at life.

He hadn't opened his arms or moved at all but as long as his heart was pumping, this man was going to be alright right.

"This man has been through it all. Some of these wounds look horrible. It must have been hell for him," A doctor told as he examined the patient's body, "I found it surprising that he is even alive. It's a miracle he's breathing."

"Officals apparently found him in and out of consciousness and he hadn't eaten to days. Those wounds looked pretty deep and horrifying. He's a strong guy," The nurse said, "Thank god we found him."

"Do we have an I.D on the patient? Dog tags? Passports?"

The female nurse dug into the jacket that was found with the patient. She pulled out a pair of dog tags, "I guess he must be with the U.S Marines or Army."

"Do we have a name?"

"John Cena."

* * *

**A/N: **And here we go again, another chapter for you guys.  
Secret's out - Maryse knows. Kelly's secret's out and Alicia's blackmailing?  
Poor Evan, ditched again. Ted, well he's the same. haha!  
Look who's back... that was probably predictable of me! haha!  
New Poll on the page - please vote and Please review :) Gracias!


	11. Good vs Evil

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Eleven_ - Good vs. Evil

All good things must come to an end at some point – for example, this short two week winter break from school and now it was back to school for the students of West Beverly. The excitement level was just ringing everywhere.

Eve for one, whose excitement went through the roof, was only looking forward to one thing this whole day; Cody. After spending the winter break back in Denver, it felt amazing to finally be back where she belongs – right here in Beverly Hills. Of course she loved seeing her friends and family in Denver but she missed the ones here the absolute most and could not wait to finally to see them.

All she dealt with was the cold wintry weather in the mountains but finally got some well needed sunshine and warm weather. The Latina gently skipped up the stairs of the front courtyard as her eyes came across someone extra special to her.

"Cody!" Eve spoke with excitement ring to it. Cody looked up and smiled as he opened his arms up. Eve jogged over and fell right into his arms and it couldn't have felt any better. He greeted her with a sweet kiss on her lips before they took a seat on the stone bench Cody was sitting on, "I'm so happy to finally see you. I missed you so much."

"I missed you even more. Texting, emailing and webcams wasn't the same was having you right her," And with those words, he kissed her on her smooth cheek, "So how was Denver?"

"It was good. I loved seeing all of my friends again. They all think I'm like one of those spoiled rich girls on the Hills or Laguna Beach. Other than that, it was great to see my friends and my family but in the end, I'm just so happy to be back home – here with you and all of my friends here."

"And I can't be happier to have you home," He kissed her once again, "That's one thing I completely missed doing. The only kisses I was getting was from my dog, Sasha."

Eve giggled away, "I'll be sure to make everything up to you – starting," And that's when he look went sour, "Oh god."

"Oh God what?"

"I forgot when I came back that I was supposed to deal with her."

Eve's glareful eyes crept over to blonde hair woman walking up the steps into the courtyard. There she was, Maryse Ouellet thinking she owns this place and every single one of these people in here. Eve's blood was boiling. Steam could be shooting out of her ears just by looking at her and thinking about everything she has done. Maryse spotted Eve staring right at her and returned her glare, with another glare.

Maryse just rolled her eyes in disgust and didn't want to take one more glance at the brunette who is nothing but a liar and backstabber. A chance of rebuilding their friendship was slim to none.

"Eve, try not to even think about her. It's nothing and you should just let this whole thing let go. It's the past and the past will remain in the past," With all his convincing, He hoped he got something into her mind – something to make her not think of .

"It's just so tough," Eve watched as the blonde slowly made her way to them, which she found a bit surprising, "Why is she coming over here?"

She strutted her way to them with that usually cocky grin on her face before she stopped a couple feet in front of them, "Hi Cody – I'm just popping by to see how you have been," Maryse grilled Eve, "I can see it must have just been horrible."

"No need to worry Maryse," Eve took Cody by his cheeks and placed a gentle sweet kiss on his lips before she grinned back at the Blonde, "Cody is doing just well – especially since I'm around."

"Well I hope you guys are very happy," Maryse spoke with the most sincerity than she has shown, "And don't even think about getting in my way. Remember, I'm going to make your life an absolute living hell so watch what you do and what you do," And with her final words to her enemy, Maryse walked away.

"God I can't stand her," She growled away, "Who does she think she is? She's going to make my life a living hell? Is this like some sort of sick movie or a teen drama soap opera? She's just a sixteen year old girl – what power does she hold?"

"Don't let it bother you. She talks this whole big game but it's nothing. You have to let it go and don't let this both you because that's when she wins. When she sees you breaking, it's entertainment for her. You're going to give what she wants and if you do, she wins."

"Cody, it's just so tough. She's like a bug that just sucks everything out of you and when you want to just swat it, you miss. I don't know what am I going to do. She's in some of my classes and this is just going to make this even more complicated than it is," Said Eve with a Groan, "What am I going to do?"

"It's going to be tough but I have an idea to try and keep your mind off of her. How about me and you tonight go out to dinner? Maybe the two of us can finally have our first date –what do you say?"

She responded with a kiss and while she pulled way, she smiled, "I think I would just love that. Anything to get my mind off of the devil in disguise."

**X__x__x__x__X**

Trying her best to focus on her work, Kelly just couldn't. All of her thoughts just led her straight back to Evan. All her mind could picture was how he was just left at the dance – yet again. It really broke her heart that she did that but if it wasn't for Alicia, it would have never happened but it did.

Alicia had the ball in her court. She had two ways to toss it – spill her secret or blackmail her into not spilling her secret.

It was certainly tough and unfair of the female to do to her. Kelly hadn't said a word to Evan. Alicia enlisted that Kelly can't speak nor see the man over the winter break. If she were to spot them, her secret would be out and Kelly's life would be officially over.

Kelly couldn't focus anymore and she quickly left the empty classroom and roamed the halls during the busy third period. She was saw frustrated and worried that she couldn't pay attention to wherever she was walking. Her failure to pay attention caused her to knock into somebody else with her books crashing to the floor.

"I have to watch where I'm going," Kelly went down and lifted her books, "I'm real sorry, I wasn't –" She paused as she examined who she had bumped into, "Evan…"

"Kel – surprised to see you. Surprised to hear from you since the last time we spoke. I was suppose to see you like three weeks ago at the dance but you never showed up – again. If you're going to continue something like this, tell me so I don't waste my time," He had every right to be upset with the blonde.

"Evan, listen I have to explain to you everything. I have something I just have to tell you and it will explain everything."

"How can you explain this? You told Alicia to tell me you couldn't make it because you had to go to see some guy. Is it Phil? You went to go see him right – I knew you were never over him. I knew it had to be a lie."

"Evan, it's not what you think. You have to listen to me –"

"And what; be lied to over and over again? I'm sick of your lies and this truths you pass of as lies," Evan turned his head and bit down on his lip, "I'm just going to go."

"Evan don't go," Pleaded Kelly. It was time to come clean – yet again, "Alicia knows."

"Knows what?"

"Alicia knows everything. Everything about Phil and I. How we slept together, how he was a drug addict and how he was twice my age. She's threatening to tell the whole school my business if I don't listen to her. One thing she told me not to do was to see or speak to you. Evan, this is hard but I can't just let that happen. If I does, my life is over. I'll be completely humiliated."

He took a moment to understand the situation Kelly was in. She was in a tough spot. It was a lose – lose situation and it wasn't going to benefit her in any way.

"I didn't know."

"There was no way I could have even told you. I thought this was going to go on forever and you were going to hate me once again and this time I felt I had no chance of ever establishing our friendship because you really are one of my best friends here," Sadden by the whole situation, Kelly nervously played with her hair.

Evan glanced down at the ground, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said any of that since I didn't know what was going on."

"It's not your fault at all. You didn't know and I can't blame you for the way you felt. I did it to you a second time," Kelly apologized to him once again, "I'm sorry for everything and I just want to get rid of her. I want to get rid of her."

"Well go and think of something."

This was believed to be a confidential meeting between the two but another pair of eyes were lurking in the distance and these pair of eyes has discovered Kelly and Evan but in the plan, it was agreed that she couldn't see or speak to him. I guess this wasn't going to last long.

**X__x__x__x__X**

The light provided by the sun was slowly being replaced by the city lights of Los Angeles. Down Melrose Avenue, the restaurants we're full to capacity as some of Los Angeles's residents decided to spend the evening out and dine out. Eve and Cody were amongst some of the people in the restaurant known as "Flare" serving some of the best sushi in town.

Eve was star strucked by the whole aura from the restaurant. Some celebrities were even in the restaurant and she read that this was one of the best places to eat in town. The waiter provided both with menus as they began to glance at the different options of what they could eat.

"Cody, I swear I didn't think we were going to come here. I heard so many great things about this place like that there sushi is some of the best in the country and I think I saw Shakira come through the back and she's sitting in one of the back booths. This is just amazing," Eve gloated at the fact of how amazing this place was when she went back to look at the menu.

"This is our first date. I didn't want to go to fast food joint and watch you devour a double bacon cheeseburger. It wouldn't be as memorable as this and any special girl of mine gets the best," He smiled at Eve, causing her to blush, "Check out the menu. I heard their Octopus rolls are some of the best."

"There's so much to choose from. I think there's over fifty different kind of sushi rolls."

As the waiter came over, he poured wine into each of their glasses before speeding away. Cody quickly reached for his and raised it up, "I would like to make a toast," Eve grinned before raising hers as well, "Here's to one amazing date with one of the most beautiful girls I have ever met."

"And to the most lovely - bitch."

"Yes, to that bitch – wait, hold up? I don't think that was for me now," Puzzled, Cody examined her face and could see that something was wrong, "Who are you calling a bitch?"

"That bitch – Maryse, she's here in one of those private booths," Eve gasped once she plugged in why she would be here, "I know why she's here. She probably found out that we were going and 'decided' to show up herself. I can't believe her – she has no life."

Cody rest his glass to the ground and looked over at Maryse who was looking to order something for herself, "I think she's just here eating maybe. I don't think she followed us or heard that we were going here. This is all probably a huge coincidence."

"Coincidence my ass; she definitely followed us here. Her goal in life is to make sure I pay from taking you. That why she is here. She wants to sabotage our date but little does she know that I am not going to let her do that. Oh no, she think she's got this well, she's got something coming to her."

Cody witness Eve standing up from her chair, "Eve, where are you going? Don't tell me you're going to go up to her now."

"That's exactly what I am going to go do. I'll be right back."

"Don't go. Eve!"

But it was too late. Eve was stomping her way up to Maryse. Her blood began to boil deep in her veins and she was seconds way from just taking Maryse by her hair and smacking her face against the table – repeatedly, "So, you somehow decided that you wanted to come here tonight huh? I wonder what made you want to come here – I know why. Because Cody and I are having our date here; that's why you came. You wanted to ruin this for me didn't you."

"First of all, don't go all incredible Hulk on me. I just came here because I wanted some good food and I like this place. I come here a lot," Maryse huffed, "And I wouldn't want to ruin you're precious date. Like I care about either one of you."

"Oh please, just this morning you're threatening to ruin my life and all and now all of a sudden, you're all relaxed about it. Face it, you heard me and Cody were going and you decided to show up to spy on us. Admit it."

Maryse dropped her menu onto the table and stood up, getting right into Eve's face, "I don't care about either one of you. You both make me sick. You two are nothing but liars and some of the fakest people I have ever met."

"You're just saying that because probably Cody never treated you the way he's treating me. Did he ever take to you a nice place like this? I bet not. Face it, you're jealous now because you have no friends and you have no boyfriend which leads you to be miserable. You have nothing so all you want to do is take away other people's happiness so they know how you feel."

It was true. Maryse was a cold monster and she herself even knew that but wasn't going to just admit that to her. Maryse is a strong woman and does not admit defeat like that and never will.

"You really think that?"

"I don't think that. I know that," Maryse started to laugh and Eve just stood there wondering what exactly Maryse was finding so funny, "What the hell could be so funny?"

"This."

Maryse took her drink and tossed it right into Eve's face, blinding her with the sparkling water was she drinking. Eve tried her best to clear up her vision and in response with Maryse's attack, Eve took the other glass full of water and tossed it right into Maryse's face, before taking her down with a spear.

Right there, in the middle of one of Hollywood's most famous restaurants, a catfight was brewing. Other customers' witness the two girls go right at it and did nothing to stop it. There was an occasionally "Throw some chocolate syrup on them" chant going on but nothing was stopping them.

Instantly two security guards appeared to help break up the situation and Cody emerged, feeling really disappointed with Eve about this whole situation.

The two girls were tossed onto the streets as if they were piles of garbage. Cody soon followed behind the two women as they fixed themselves up. Maryse tasseled her hair up making sure it was fine.

"God, you're pathetic. Because of you, I can never show my face in that restaurant. I hope you're happy," Growled the angry beauty before she stormed out of Eve's way.

"Can you believe that girl?" A scowl emerged from Eve's appearance, "All those things she said – she deserved it. She thinks herself as if she is Queen or Presidents but no, she's just a pathetic little girl. Right Cody?"

His answer was silence. He stood behind her, shutting his lips together not saying one word.

"Cody, are you okay?"

In response, Cody finally looked at her, "Does it look like I am okay? I'm far from okay. I don't even know who you are anymore. I saw a completely different girl in there – not that girl that I fell for but some monster."

Hurtful was the best way to describe Cody's words to Eve. How could she be portrayed as a monster when it's clear that Maryse is the monster – not here, "I'm not a monster and I was just defending myself. I didn't do anything wrong."

"I told you not to go up to her. I said we should just enjoy our evening together and let her be. She wasn't bothering us but you went up there when I said not to," The dark haired boy answered with a disappointed tone, "I thought you were different than that. I expected so much different from you."

"I still am that way. I'm still the same old Eve."

"No you're not – you're like," He didn't want to say it, but he had too. That's how he saw her as, "You're like another Maryse."

And with that, Cody took the opportunity to leave Eve right on the sidewalk as he disappeared into the night while Eve stood there, feeling ashamed and disappointed.

**X__x__x__x__X**

In such an uncomfortable bed, he tried his best to get some sort of comfort but nothing was working. Resting on the left was uncomfortable, rest on his right was painful and lying on his back was even further painful. The cuts and bruises on his back didn't provide any help for the situation. White bandages were wrapped up around his head to stop any bleeding that was there from before and his hand remained in a cast as he had broken it.

John Cena went through it all. Being a Prisoner of War wasn't the best of things when he was captured by a group of militants as he was delivering food supplies to the villages. For months he had been separated from the world but now he was back in a place where he'd feel a little bit safer and a place that would eventually bring him back home to where he belongs.

John was being treated in a hospital in the middle of the South Pacific. Doctors and Nurses were passing by the room he was in, until one came in with a clipboard, "Glad to finally see you up Mr. Cena. How you feeling today?"

"This bed isn't helping my pain that much doctor," John playfully laughed, "But it will do. How soon till I can go home? That's all I want to hear."

"Well, you're looking at a few more weeks for some legal reasons but we'll be transporting you to another hospital, with much better beds, in a few days and you'll be spending your time there doing some rehab alright."

"As long as I get a bed – that's all I care about."

"And I wanted to tell you something else as well," The doctor took some time before revealing the news, "We have plans on calling you're wife to tell her you're safe. If you want, you can speak to her as well. We'll just have a nurse come in and help you out."

He wanted to hear Torrie's sweet voice. He missed it. He missed her and his children. What wouldn't he do just to get up and run home to them? That's all he wanted to do but this might be a really good surprise.

"I have an idea. Don't call them. Don't tell them anything because I want to surprise them all when I get home. I just want to see their smiles when I see them. I think I could wait a little bit longer before I do anything."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," As much as he wanted to, he figured a surprise would be a little bit better.

**X__x__x__x__X**

The following morning at school, Eve went on a search for Cody. She really wanted to speak to him after they're little argument from the previous right. Once she thought about everything, she understood that Cody was right. Her behavior was immature and nothing like her. For the past half an hour, she's been looking for him and wasn't having much luck finding him until she noticed a figure by the stands on the football field.

Eve gracefully walked over to Cody and took a seat next to him, "Trying to find you was like trying to find Waldo. I was hoping we can talk about – what happened yesterday?"

"I'm listening."

"You were completely right. I was an idiot for making a fool out of myself with the whole Maryse ordeal. I should have listened to you but I didn't because she was bugging me so much. She got in the way of what was really important – spending the evening with you."

It sounded as if she has learned her lesson, "I'm sorry for making a complete fool out of myself. I should have never went up to her or made any kind of contact. I hope you can forgive me and take me back," She continued with a small pout o her lips.

"Such a tough decision; take you back or just leave you here at the spot?" His teasing wasn't making the situation any better before he responded to her question with a kiss, "I'm willing to take you back as long as you promise you won't let her get to you anymore. That this relationship can never be affected by her; deal?"

"Of course," She smiled as the relief of having this argument over, "And I'll even make it up to you. I'll take you out to dinner and then we can finally have our date that we've been wanting."

"Fine by me just under one condition – we can't go back to the place we were yesterday. I'm pretty sure we are banned."

**X__x__x__x__X**

Maryse decided to take a day off. After what had happened with Eve, she didn't want to deal with Eve, Cody or anyone else in the school. So with no school, she decided to do something she has a strong passion for – shopping.

Maryse was parking her car on a side street right off of Hollywood Boulevard. The moment she had shut her engine off, a loud and annoying screech rambled through her ears. Her car had been hit by another car passing by. Stunned and angry, Maryse got out of her car to see the long scratch that had been placed on her car by another passing vehicle.

"You have got to be kidding me? I don't need this right now," She traced her finger over the part of the scratch to get a feel of how damaged it was, "Great, now I'm going to have to take this to the shop. Where's the idiot that did this?"

"Damn it!" A man's voice growled and it appeared to be coming from the owner of the vehicle that had just scraped Maryse's car, "I just got this car and a paint job."

Maryse turned around and faced the man who scratched up her car. It was Ted, a fellow student that Maryse did not know existed, "Hey – you better get your checkbook out because that scratch is not going to disappear."

"Listen Blondie – you parked you're car horribly. It's half way into the street so this is you're fault. You better start bringing me some cash if you want to fix this car up."

"Oh no," Maryse pointed with her finger, "It's time you pay up. You're the idiot who went down a side street going sixty miles per hour. We'll just let the police settle this whole ordeal."

"Or you can go into your purse, princess and pull out some cash for me. Based on you're appearance, you look a little bit like daddy's little princess who spoils you silly," Ted boasted away, "You can start paying up."

"No way."

"Fine," Ted just gave up, seeing as if this whole thing was going nowhere. He stomped his way back into the car and quickly sped away before Maryse could do anything.

Maryse examined her scratch once again but her thoughts came back to the guy who had just hit her. A smirk emerged and for some reason, Maryse wasn't as mad. She was a bit – turned on by this whole thing. That guy has got some sort of essence about him

But chances of seeing him again were pretty slim.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Alicia and Rosa had just finished another class and were on their way to Alicia's locker. The two were gossiping over the usually things like boys, who's a bitch and what party they plan on attending this weekend, "Rosa, you know who I kind of want a shot at. That Evan kid."

"That sounds pretty weird of you. Evan, well he's a loser."

"I know it does but I actually think he's a bit cute, in a weird way. Though he's not my type, I still think I should go for it," Alicia's motives in getting Kelly away from Evan, so she could have him. Kelly and Evan are inseparable so it would be perfect to just get Kelly out of the way, "I just need to get rid of his stupid blonde friend."

"Kelly? Those two are like to peas in a pod so it's going to be tough to get rid of him," Rosa pointed out before she went off to talk about herself, "But the only geek that can turn into a heartthrob is mine. Zack is such an amazing guy – though he was a total loser, he's such a cooler guy than he was before."

"Oh please."

As Rosa rambled on about her boyfriend, Alicia opened her locker to grab her books. Once she opened it, she found a picture of herself all over Rosa's Boyfriend at a party over the Christmas break. She was stunned and as she turned it over, a message in a dark marker written:

_You have some dirt on me and know I have some dirt on you. Spill my secret, I spill yours and if you think that this is the only copy, you're sadly mistaken._

_Love,  
Kelly_

_P.S. We have video too._

Alicia quickly slammed her locker with the photo inside and snapped Rosa out of her trance, "What the hell? Why'd you slam you're locker like that?"

"Nothing – it's nothing," She took out her phone and prepared to write a quick message.

_I get it. We're good now. I won't say anything, you won't say anything._

Alicia firmly shut her phone and continued walking with Rosa and eventually passed the two people who had planted it all inside Alicia's locker. Kelly quietly did a little dance in victory while Evan was just happy to see Kelly happy.

"Finally, it's over with. I won't have to do anything for Alicia," Kelly, out of know where instantly hugged the dark haired man and smiled, "I swear, sometimes I wonder if I never had you, what the hell would I have done with myself?"

Evan managed to smile, "And I have no clue what I would do without you."

* * *

**A/N: **And here we go again, another chapter for you guys.  
Not that happy with this chapter but it's okay. It was a rainy day here so it was perfect to write.  
My favorite part had to be the catfight because i really want to make it seem that Eve and Maryse do hate one another.  
Thanks for reading and Please REVIEW! :) It's important for me! And vote on the poll!


	12. Take a Chance

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twelve_ - Take a Chance

It was always complicated getting ready in the morning, especially if your name was Eve Torres. Locating the perfect set of clothes, matching shoes and determining if it's a curly hair day or a straight hair day. For today, it was a blue sundress that hugged all her curves at the right spot, white flip flops that made her bright yellow nail polish just pop out and wavy curls extending down.

It was a routine for the young Latina to sit on her stool beside the kitchen counter and wait patiently for a text message from Cody reading, _Good Morning Sunshine_, which would always leak out a sweet smile. Her phone was resting on the counter when it suddenly vibrated. Message from Cody; with the message he sends every weekday at eight in the morning.

Dana, Eve's mother, wasn't stupid. For the past two months, she noticed how giggly Eve would get every time she read a text message. Dana immediately knew who it was. This whole routine would occur every time she is about to place breakfast out for Eve - This time, Dana handed over a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and two pieces of her toast for her daughter.

It was her favorite, she wasn't going to lie. Her mom just knew how to make everything delicious. With her fork, she took a bite of the fresh scrambled eggs and had an explosion of flavor in her mouth.

"Best eggs yet Mom," She turned to her mother with a smile, similar to the one she'd give Cody's text messages and complimented on the breakfast dish, "When i move out, can i take you with me?"

Flattered, her mother offered a giggle to her daughter, "Tell that to you're father," Dana took a chunk of her brown hair, tucking it right over her ear, "I saw that smile when you tossed those eggs in you're mouth. They are as huge as the ones you give to Cody's text message. What could he possibly say to you that makes you so happy?"

"Good morning."

Her mother stood their silent, trying to compress the simple idea of a boy saying 'Good Morning' sent Eve over the moon and back. Dana could plug it in, "He just said Good morning and you're all Goo-Goo Ga-Ga all over him."

"Am not," Eve retorted back in defense, "You don't know what it's like to be young and have a boyfriend. You married Dad months before you were turning Nineteen. Cody just knows what i like."

"Speaking of this amazing guy, Do you have any plans on having your father and I meet this man you constantly speak upon? I swear, every other word out of your mouth is Cody or Cuddles, which i think is the nickname you've given him. I want to meet him already."

Eve couldn't lie; her mom had a point - which is a bit surprising. It had been about two months since the pair has been together so would it be a appropriate to have that meeting. It was going to happen eventually so why not now? Eve sucked on her teeth before directing herself toward her mother.

"I'll bring him. I'll bring him and show you just how amazing he is and how you'd feel the same way about him."

"Tomorrow we can have a BBQ, invite him over so my mind can be blown away," Confidently, Dana stood their and smiled and was definitely looking forward to meeting Cody.

**X__x__x__x__X**

It was way too early that Thursday morning. What was unusual was the sudden darkness in the sky and the rain that was coming with it. Too make matters worse that morning; Maryse had to listen to Mr. Styles as he explained another pointless project that he was scheduling for the class.

Maryse was in the furthermost seat back, with no one but a chair occupying the space beside her. With nail file in hand, she believed that her poor manicured hands needed better treatment than her brain for collecting useful information that would be used for her upcoming project - which she has no clue about at the moment. Her nails were much more important to her.

"Basically guys," Mr. Styles continued on, further explaining the concept behind the report, "I want you to give me a visual presentation of the topic you and your partner plan on choosing. You'll depict a scene based on you're topic and I'll be assigning everyone a partner," AJ's eyes crawled to the back of the room, where Maryse was sitting, "And your partner will be a human being - not a nail file."

Maryse quickly perked her head up coming face to face with her history teacher, "Maryse, do you at all plan on dropping that nail file so you can try and pay attention so that i don't have to give you a failing grade for this class?"

"Oh Mr. Styles," A cocky grin emerged not a second after he had spoke, "Does history really matter? Does it really?"

"It does if you want to walk down that graduation aisle; Put that thing away or you could file your nails with Principal McMahon. Does that sound a little better?"

It managed to silence her for that moment as Mr. Styles smirked before returning to his lecture. On his desk, he pulled his brown clipboard out, where a white paper laid attached, "So you'll be doing this in pairs. It's preplanned so don't expect to be with a friend."

Working with partners wasn't Maryse's thing. More of a loner in this place but she crossed her fingers and prayed that she'd get some geek like Charlie Heston or Marc Farley where she can simply be seductive and flirtatious to get the 'A' she truly deserved.

"Alright, Megan Morley and Scott Patterson is one. Then we'll have Dean Locke and Willa Marquez. Maryse Ouellet and Ted -"

After saying his name, he recollected his thoughts and noticed that Ted wasn't her, "Is Ted here? I don't think -"

"Here -"

And in came the late student, Ted with a pair of ripped jeans, brown boots, the leather jacket and a red t-shirt beneath with his poorly conditioned books hanging in his hand.

"Ted, It's 9:20 and if i'm correct, i think class begins here at 8:50. Reason why you're so late?"

"Well, let's just say that was i was bit busy with something else a little more important than this class," He offered a not so decent nor professional comment back to the man who decides his grade, "Sorry about that."

"One more time Ted and you're going straight to the Principal's office and we'll let her deal with you," The teacher gave him a fair warning, "Take a seat next to you're partner, Maryse. You two will be paired up to do the report together, which i am looking forward too."

A simple shrug was his only response, followed by a sluggish walk to the back desk where he came into contact with his new partner who happened to be a familiar face. His facial expression read indifference while her's, you saw more of a mixture of excitement and sadness. As weird as it sounds, that's exactly how Maryse was feeling at the moment. The name she heard wasn't someone she was expecting but it was someone else. A man name Ted.

"So we're partners?"

Ted pulled back the steel chair and took a seat with his back slouched back. His eyes never once left Maryse's, "So you're my partner? Oh, this is going to be fun."

"How is this going to be fun?"

"It will be. I'll sit back on my seat like this while you write away and you'll get an 'A' and I'll get an 'A' and we'll all be happy," A vibrant grin was offered but rejected by Maryse's fake smile, "So let's pick some historical person, write about him and that's it."

"You make it seem as if it is going to be so easy. This isn't going to be like a walk in the park," Calm and Collectivity, She wasn't going to be sucked in to do this whole thing alone, "We should meet in the library tomorrow and start this thing up. You bring yourself, your books and that brain - or whatever is left inside of it and we'll start out project."

"My, my Missy - you've got quiet the tongue," He lied if he didn't like the sharp tooth attitude that belonged to Maryse, "I'll bring my brain, which is still fully intact, My books and myself to the library and we'll do this. But you -" There seemed to always be a little more to it then she'd thought, "You should bring you're checkbook tomorrow and prepare to write me a big fat check for the damage to caused to my car - remember?"

Maryse wasn't stupid enough to not recognize him but stupid enough that she had forgotten about the little fender bender she got into with him just a couple of days ago. He hadn't exactly changed. Still that same attitude, still that same smirk and still that same leather jacket.

"We'll just see about that. Don't get all excited now."

She stayed put. This was only going to get further interesting than it is. As odd as it sounds, she liked it. The way he was to her - it just hit all the right spots. Would she say that this whole thing was attractive? That it was sexy in a sense?

Something about him just really popped out from him and well, she liked it - alot.

**X__x__x__x__X**

Math was never the subject for Cody Rhodes. If there was something he hated – a lot – this was it He was struggling to complete it as it due was in about ten minutes. Is it that necessary to learn about matrices and the elimination method? He couldn't exactly pinpoint when he would need this in his life. Hmm, probably never but that's what school is all about. It's there to teach us some helpful knowledge but to balance it out, they have some pointless knowledge added to the mix.

His pencil tip was on the verge of cracking off to the stress from this math homework but once he looked up, he found a bit of a stress reliever making her way right toward him, "Just what I need right now; something to take my mind over this useless math homework."

Eve Torres strutted over to her boyfriend, taking the seat right by his side. A soft kiss was used in the shape of a greeting, "I won't be long because you need to finish your homework. I don't want you blaming me for failing you're math class Mr. Rhodes. The only reason I'm here is to ask you a question about something."

Cody placed his books down using the pencil inside of it as a bookmark so he couldn't lose his spot. Eve slowly placed her leg over his while his hand rub softly up and down her thigh, feeling the soft sun kiss skin of his girlfriend, "Ask me anything."

The Latina took a sudden pause before her eyes met his. Her lips coiled up as his eyes had no plans on retreating from hers, "Well, I was thinking," The brunette began, "and we've been together for a really long time. Almost two months already and my mom, well she hears everything about you and she, along with my dad, really want to meet you since they hear so much about you. So I was hoping you'd like to join me and my parents for a Barbeque at my house tomorrow night – so they can finally meet the guy I've been talking about all this time."

Cody gently bit down on his lip and looked away for a moment. He was worried. He never met any girlfriend's parents, except Maryse's but that was only because his family knew hers. Meeting a girl's parents was a huge step. If her parents didn't like him, what could this spell for their relationship? It could all be over if he gives them a bad impression and it wasn't exactly a risk he was willing to take.

Everything with Eve had been going wonderful. Not a flaw or a problem in sight for their relationship. At this point, he loved what they had and meeting her parents could ruin the whole thing. He wasn't willing to just let something bad happen and ruin this. This was the best thing to ever happen to him. Eve was the best thing to ever happen to him in a very long time.

"Eve, I'm not sure," He started off with negativity and already giving his answer away without any explanation, "I'm not good with meeting parents. I have no idea how I am going to handle it all. I've never done this before and what if it goes wrong? What if they hate me so much they don't want you to date me any further? It's a big risk and I don't want to think about it. I like what we have and I don't want myself meeting you're parents ruin this whole thing."

Eve was annoyed. She wasn't a fan of how he quickly shot down the idea and instantly believes that it's going to be a bad experience or that they are going to dislike them. You never truly know until you try. This Latina wasn't going to give up that easily, "Cody, you don't know that. My parents are nice people. They're understanding people. You never know until you try."

"I just know. They'll hate me," His eyes hit the floor and away from Eve's scowl, "They'll take one good look at me and they'll say he's just some California trash and ask you what the hell you were thinking and then it will all be over. We'll both move on and that will be that."

His negativity really was bringing her down. Not once did Eve witness Cody acting so negativity and feeling hopeless. She never once saw him like this and it was for something like this. Cody was never one to be down in the dumps or be so negative like he was today. He was positive. He always had this positive and happy outlook and nothing like this and it angered the brunette. All she could wonder was where was the Cody she knew? The one that was always looking on the positive side of things even if they were so negative but for all she knew, he was not here with her at the moment. The positive Cody was replaced by a negative one.

Eve took a moment before she released a sigh, "Cody, I know you have your doubts and some of these things but you can't always think negative. I really want this. They already have a wonderful impression of you," Once she said that, Cody locked his eyes back onto hers, "There's not a day where I don't say anything about you. Like how you send me those text messages in the morning and how you would drive me home every day from school no matter what? You already gave them a wonderful impression – now, they just want to put a face to it and meet the wonderful guy I call my boyfriend."

It was a relieving feeling for him. To know that Mr. and Mrs. Torres already have a good sense of him, he felt what was there to worry about as much? He still had to make the impression even better but he felt better about the whole situation.

"Okay, I'll meet them," He announced and by the look on Eve's face, she was definitely happy with his decision, "But I'm only doing this because this is you. If it was anybody else, I would never do it, but for you, I'd do anything."

And with that said, Eve responded with a kiss, one that was well deserved for the raven haired boy, "Thank you so much. You seriously don't know how much this means to me that you're doing this for me."

**X__x__x__x__X**

A perfect afternoon for Evan involved a bowl of popcorn, a sprite and a collection of Smallville Dvd's, seasons one through eight. It was just about perfect. There were no interruptions. His sisters were still in school, his mother was at the supermarket grabbing a few things and Dad was still working. It was a time and day where he finally got some peace and quiet in this household, just something he could never get before but he finally did.

He laid on the couch, one foot hanging off while the other collapsed onto the couch. The bowl of popcorn laid on the floor beside him, with perfect reaching distance for him, "Everything is just perfect. It's quiet, relaxing and calm," With that said, he pressed the play button and this third episode of the fifth season rolled onto the screen.

"Evan!"

And he had spoken soon – way too soon.

He looked at the basement door and through the window, he saw a familiar blonde haired female standing outside of it. Though it was from far away, He could tell that it was Kelly waiting outside the door. He thought for a second – does he really have to let her in right now? Is it that important? "Kelly, I'm really busy now – can you come back later?"

Kelly knocked on the window again, aiming to get his attention once again, "Evan, I just need to borrow you're printer for a quick second and then you can enjoy you're Smallville afternoon. So could you just please let me in."

An unhappy groan was emitted into the air. Forcefully, Evan grabbed his popcorn and slid in onto the side table as he forced himself to walk to the door. Twisting the knob, he was greeted with a set of thrity two pearls just glowing right at him. On the couch he was annoyed that she was here but once he opened the door, he felt that feeling come across him yet again. That same one he would get when he would see her, when he would hear her voice through the telephone.

"Computer's over on the left," He continued on as he welcomed her into the basement and closed the door as she came inside, "What's this report for? Do I have to do it too?"

Kelly made herself comfortable at the computer desk and was setting everything up as she continued to speak, "Nope. Mrs. Guerrero wanted me to write this report on how Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare are alike so when I went to go and print it, my print runs out of ink so here I was banging on your door."

Evan smiled for a moment before he sat back onto his couch and lowered the volume on his television when he heard the printer spitting out Kelly's report. Kelly turned over and saw the fresh bowl of popcorn on the side table, "There's popcorn, I see. If you replaced the popcorn with a carton of ice cream and the DVD with a depressing movie, you'd have an inside look on some of my Saturday nights."

He offered a chuckle in response before Kelly made herself comfortable next to him on the couch as she grabbed the popcorn. With her fingers, she tossed in piece by piece, "Would you mind saving some popcorn for me? I'd like to have a few left after you're finished with it and not having to like the bowl for whatever is left."

"Are you insinuating that I eat a lot?" She playfully answered while stuffing handfuls of popcorn down her throat, "Because I'm not, Okay. I do not eat a lot," And the moment the man character of Smallville came on, Kelly paused and smiled, "Tom Welling."

He peaked forward to see the gaze she was giving the television when Clark Kent came on the screen. He thought this was worse than girls who would scream for the vampire dude from Twilight, "Kelly, you can breathe you know."

"I'm sorry – he's just so amazing. I love his hair, those eyes and ugh, take off your shirt Tom. Just take it off!"

An eruption of laughter erupted through Evan's mouth and he found it hard to control it. Kelly simply looked over smiling but still a bit confused on Evan's unexplained laughter, "What could possibly be so funny Evan? The fact that I yelled at the television screen for a man to reveal his body?"

"You're like one of those girl who would react to seeing the Vampire dude from Twilight but instead it was for Clark Kent."

Kelly took a sip of Evan's soda before she smirked at him, "He's on my top five celebrities I would marry in a heartbeat, along with Channing Tatum, Bradley Cooper, Ryan Reynolds and Kellan Lutz."

It was that big playful side of Kelly that Evan always loved about Kelly. She'd be always one that would love to joke around and have so fun – something Evan loved to see in a girl. Too many girls were over the top serious while Kelly was so down to earth, laid back and playful. What more could you want from a girl then all of this aspects? The brown haired boy just smiled as Kelly rambled on and on about different things.

This sudden eruption of happiness emerged inside of Kelly. It was unexplainable. Kelly couldn't find the words to describe it but it was something she loved feeling. Evan had to be one of the sweetest guys she had ever met and was lucky to have him as a friend. What she found suspicious about him was how she had helped him through everything that had happened with Phil. He was understanding and didn't immediately judge her for what he had done. A guy like that was rare to find. Evan was there for a lot of things with her. When people doubted her, he stuck around.

When he believed that she hadn't shown up to the winter ball, she explained to him what happened and he understood everything. He didn't immediately want to just cut him out of his life and end it like that. It was something she loved about him – a person who couldn't give up on you that easily. It just made her wonder, what was behind this all? Was it just how he was or was there something more to it that she didn't exactly know about?

"I bet you have a list of some girls. Come on, spill it Evan," She gently pushed him, hoping to get something out of him, "There has to be a couple of ladies that are famous that you would want to marry. Everyone has their dream list."

"I don't go for Famous women," He began with his hand reaching his skull and gently scratching it, "I go for girls that have personality. I don't need any famous award winning actress or award winning singer. I just want a girl, who I like for who she is. That's all I look for."

His response caused a smile to his answer. Kelly noticed the time and figured she better best be going, "Well, that was interesting. I'm off," Kelly quickly grabbed her report and headed for the door before she turned back around and faced Evan, "Are you busy tomorrow night?"

"Nope – nothing planned."

"How'd you feel if maybe you and I would go out to dinner? Normally, I'd be stuffing my face with ice cream and watching a depressing movie but I was thinking that you and I could hang out and go to dinner. Does this sound appealing or does busy Evan have to hit the clubs and go party with some ladies?"

His response was laughter. "Yeah, I'm down. You pick the place and we'll go. It could be – like a date?"

"Yeah, it would be like a date."

**X__x__x__x__X**

She would always sleep on the right side of the bed, right by the window and every morning, except when it rains and it's cloudy, the sun would rise and the bright rays would wake her up. She slipped into her silky short purple night gown and her body rested up against two pillows with a celebrity gossip magazine in hand.

Just as she made herself comfortable, Randy walked in after tucking both Emily and Connor into their beds for the night. It was like a race. He whipped off his shirt and jeans and just tossed them into the floor, much to Stacy's disapproval and jumped into his gray lounge pants. He slipped into the bed, got comfortable and replied with a long and satisfied sigh of relief.

"Who's going to pick up those clothes on the floor?" Kindly asked his wife just when she put the magazine down, "Because last time I checked, I never had a maid here to pick up after you. You pick after yourself in this house."

"I'll do it in the morning," His response wasn't one Stacy was looking for and when he turned over and got even further comfortable, she was only getting even more annoyed, "I'm just so tired from work and I just want to lay down and sleep. Is that too much to ask for?"

Stacy didn't answer his question with anything. As fast as he said that, she shut off her light and made herself comfortable as well. She turned the other way and they were back to back as they were sleeping. Randy turned over and with his hand, he gently rubbed Stacy's thigh in a soothing and relaxing fashion. Stacy could feel him crawling closer and closer to him. His hand traveled from her thigh to being wrapped around her waist line. A moist set of lips began to travel up and around her neck and she knew where this whole thing was going to lead – right to sex.

Stacy turned over and faced the men, greeting him with a moist kiss, enough to have a savory taste of Randy before she stopped, "I thought you said you were tired and now all of a sudden you want to have sex?"

"Well," He began, and uttered on, "You see – I wouldn't say I'm that tired. Like, I'm tired, not wanting to pick up my clothes from the floor tired but I'm not tired enough that I wouldn't be interested in making this night a fun night," He answered and returned to kissing her soft round lips.

Stacy pushed him down and decided it was time for her to take control – and have a little fun of her own. There two sets of lips never once broke from its lock. Stacy would take her hands and caress Randy's cheeks together as Randy would take his hands and have them rest right on Stacy's hips. The urge to go further than this was on Stacy's mind but it was abruptly stopped when he had broken their kiss.

She was puzzled as she looked down at her husband, "What's the matter? Why'd you stop?"

It was odd for a man – especially if his name is Randy Orton – to as easily stop what he was doing in the middle of love making. After all, Randy loved sex. He lived and breathed it. It was his oxygen and for him to just stop like that, something was wrong.

"Aren't you going to grab a condom before we do this? Or are you on the pill?" He brought up the question which made Stacy very unhappy. She was unhappy enough that it didn't take Randy long to notice that she was unhappy, "You see upset. Just get the condom in your drawer and we can go back to where we left off."

The statement he made was puzzling itself. The long pause between the two lasted for over twenty seconds, full of just awkward eye contact, "Why do we have to use a condom? We've never used one ever since we've gotten married and now all of a sudden you want to use one. I don't get it."

His response was a reasonable one to him, but he wasn't sure if she would agree, "Well, I don't want anything to happen you know. Something may happen and I think we just should be careful. I don't see the big deal."

It all had fitted in. This 'anything' that could happen only meant one thing and one thing only. Randy didn't want to get Stacy pregnant. Normally, Randy would want to have sex and didn't care about any of the circumstances and results that came along with it but now, it's completely different. He's completely different.

"You don't want to get pregnant right? You're worried that if we do it, you'll get me pregnant and we'll have another baby that you suddenly don't want to have. Isn't that right Randy?"

"I – I, I just want to be careful and yes, I don't want you getting pregnant. I told you, I'm not ready for another kid and I'm perfectly happy with everything right now. Stace, I don't want anything to change. I like the way everything is right now," He spoke the truth and only hoped that maybe Stacy would see through his point.

She didn't respond. All she did was quietly come off of Randy and laid back down onto her side of the bed. Her arms cross and an angry scowl emerged across her face, "No, that's not what you want – that's what Dawn wants."

A simple eye roll was Randy's immediate reflex to another accusation that he constantly listens to Dawn and never to himself. Dawn just brought up an example if he and Stacy were to have another child and that's it. Randy just sees the possibility of something happening like Dawn describe and he wanted to avoid that happening and the way to do that was to not have a child and just be happy with what they have now.

"No – it is what I want. I want us to be happy and Myself, You, Connor and Emily are all happy just the way we are right now. What else is there to say and do?"

For a woman who rarely gets upset, she was finally getting upset and fed up with this whole thing, "You can go sleep in the guestroom tonight. I think it would be best if you left me alone tonight," And that was all she said.

He took one more look at Stacy and turned his head away. He picked up his clothes, the ones he had tossed off from earlier and placed them on the chair located in their room. Stepping away from the room, Randy paused at the head of the door and took a long silent look at Stacy, who's back was to him.

**X__x__x__x__X**

It was almost impossible for Maryse to work with Ted. On a Friday afternoon, she was stuck in the library and that was weird enough. Everything was ready. The books, the research she got from the internet and supplies to make the visual. The only important thing she didn't have – something you really need when working with another person – was the other person. Ted was M.I.A. for the time being.

Text after text, call after call and not a peep from Ted. The pair was scheduled to meet at three in the library. It was now a quarter after three and she had no sigh of her fellow classmate. The blonde was growing impatient rather quickly. With the palm of her hand, she managed to keep her head up and allowed her other hand to pay with a pencil between her fingers.

When she believed that all hope was lost, a larger figure was felt coming her way. Lifting her head on her own, a grimace look rose onto her face. With her hands, she gently pushed back the hair that had fallen over her face and changed her scowl, into an exasperated grin, "You decided to show up."

Roughly, he tugged on the seat before him, that was positioned across from Maryse, and made himself comfortable, "I have a few more important things to do other than this work so excuse me if I am so late," He spoke with a crude tone that suddenly turned more playful, "But, how much did you finish? The whole thing?"

"Not even close," Maryse presented forward the materials they'd be using for research, "I've been waiting for you all this time so we can do this as a team, since after all we are partners and Styles expects us to make this report amazing."

The bulkier male perked forward and glanced over at the paperwork his partner had gone out of her way to get, "You did a lot here. You've got info on this dude. I wonder if you got another piece of paper as well. You know, with the sum of 200 dollars signed by you written out for Ted DiBaise. I hope you got that written out too."

"You mean a check?"

"That's what it's called – a check."

Maryse could only simply chuckle at his response. The fact that he believes she is simply going to write him a check for two hundred dollars so something he did. The kid was in for a brutal awakening, "Didn't we go over this? You've agreed that I owe you nothing and you owe me two hundred dollars to pay for the damage my car went through – don't you remember? There's not need to bring this up all the time."

He remained quiet for that moment, but too bad he doesn't go down that easily. He looked over at her bag and couldn't help but notice it was a designer bag. If she could afford that, giving away two hundred dollars to her would be like tossing pennies away, "Pretty bag you got there? That was probably worth like what – four or five hundred dollars? So giving me two hundred would be like giving spare change. I don't see a problem."

His determination was sexy and quiet appealing. It looked as if he was never going to forget about that and never give up. Maryse had to get her mind out of the gutter, along with his, "Enough with these stupid checks and talk about money. Let's start what we came here for."

"But that's what I came here for."

"Well it can wait," The blonde snapped back causing him not to flinch but to smirk, "I'm sure you don't want to fail his class so enough with this chit – chat and let's get down to business."

He nodded, which pleased her but once he removed his thick black leather jacket and tossed it onto the table, revealing his muscular and toned biceps, her tongue was tied up. She flicked her her hair away and snapped out of the trance she was in the midst of. There was something about him – something that just stood out from him. Something extremely attractive and Maryse did not know why.

**X__x__x__x__X**

His nerves were trembling. His left arm couldn't stop shaking and he was perspiring much more than he usually does. This was definitely odd of him but he was about to meet Eve's parents for the first time. He was walking up the stone pathway leading to the massive home that Eve had been living in for five months. The scent received from the barbeque reached from down the block and got stronger and stronger as it. The closer he had gotten to the door, the sound of chattering rose. Once he had stepped onto the welcome mat, right in front of his door, he raised his finger and took one last deep breath before pushing the door, hearing the chime race through the house.

He waited patiently for the door to open in a pair of cargo shorts, flip flops and a yellow polo shirt. Suddenly, the door only cracked open and a piece of Eve's body, her head, popped out through the door with a smile, "Hey – you made it."

"Yeah, I'm here and well, you're head's there. Where's the rest of you?"

"Remember how I said we were going to have a nice simple barbeque with my parents? Just the four of us," Eve took a moment to pause and took a deep breath, "There's been a change of plans. Well, this Barbeque went from four people," And that's when Eve pushed the door back and revealed the other thirty six guests that were Eve's family, "to about forty people."

His jaw dropped – straight through the ground and even closer to the Earth's core. Eve immediately shut the door and stepped out onto the front steps with Cody, "I had no idea this was going to happen. I kept trying to reach you but you never responded. I'm sorry, I didn't want this to happen."

As his nerves were trying to get the best of him at the moment, he did his best to try and keep himself calm and relaxed, "It will be fine," He muttered in a soft voice, "I can handle this – we can handle this. It will all be fine."

Pursuing her lips together, she proposed an idea that she and Cody can go through, "We can skip all of that for now but my parents are in the backyard – maybe we can go meet with them first, before my grandma and thousands of cousins and we can get through the tough part of the night. Does that sound more appealing than going through twenty people and having myself introduce every single one of them to you?"

As bad as the situation was, the raven haired man managed to smile, "Okay, we'll do that," He took a hold of her hand, grasping it tightly, "Let's go meet Mama and Papa Torres."

To say the least, Eve was happy with Cody's choice to just head straight for her parents. In response to his decision, she laid a kiss on his cheek before guiding him through the side entrance of the house, "Can you explain to me why everyone is here? I thought half of them lived in Denver?"

"We have some family here from Malibu and Huntington beach and my cousins and Grandma flew in from Denver this afternoon to spend the weekend. When I came home today, I saw everybody and I had no idea any of them were coming. So here I am, stuck with half of my family tree."

The pair managed to enter the backyard, where it was quiet and peaceful. Lucky for Cody, he saw two figures standing before a barbeque, "I'm guessing that's the two of them over at the barbeque?"

"That's Mommy and Daddy for you. Just remember to be yourself and you'll be fine. They're going to love you regardless and see how much of a gentleman you really are," They were getting closer and closer. It was time. Time to face them and be a man; he refused to back down now, "Mom, Dad – I think I'd like you to meet someone."

Instantly, both of them turned around, stopping whatever they were doing and came face to face, for the first time, with their daughter's boyfriend, "Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Cody, the amazing guy I've been telling you about."

Eve's mother smiled at the sight of her daughter's boyfriend. Just by a simple gaze, she felt he was a trustworthy man and one that would take care of her daughter, "Cody, It's so nice to meet you. I'm Dana. Eve has talked so much about you."

"Really?" Cody offered a nervous smile.

"Oh god, I think I know everything about you already – that's how much I know about you. Even when Eve's on the toilet, doing a –"

"Mom!" Preventing her mother from further embarrassing her, Eve shouted a remark to her mother, "I don't think Cody wants to know about anything I do in the bathroom so can we leave the bathroom talk out of this please?"

John Torries, Eve's dad came up, "Excuse my wife, Cody – she may think she's old but she still acts as if she is seventeen again."

"Hey, you married this woman and go to sleep with her every night so behave John."

A playful laugh was received from Cody in response to their parent's comedic ways, "Nice to meet you both. You guys have quiet the big place over here. I think I see most of Los Angeles from up here," Cody gazed out onto the view, "A beautiful place and a beautiful daughter as well."

In response to Cody's comment, you couldn't wipe the smile off of Eve's face for the life of it. Her mother also seem please, along with her Dad who was one of the hardest men to please in the world, "Now do you believe me that he's the most amazing guy in the world, mom?"

"If he likes my homemade macaroni and cheese, then this kid is perfect. Cody, it was wonderful to meet you but I have got to get back to work. I have to feed about forty people but please make yourself comfortable and enjoy tonight. John, fix the boy up a hamburger."

"Thanks Mrs. Torres."

"Please, call me Dana. I feel like an old woman when people call me Mrs. Torres," And with that being said, Dana headed back into the household full of people just waiting to eat.

Eve and Cody took a seat on the swinging bench, overlooking the city. His entire arm rested on the top of the chair while Eve made herself comfortable, laying on his side. Her head with collapse onto his shoulder as the smell of the hot dogs would feel the air around them. For the sake of Cody, she was happy that it was over for him and that he conquered meeting her parents. Now, it was smooth sailing.

"I told you it wasn't going to be hard," Her gaze would retreat to the sun slowly setting over the town, "I can tell by the look on their face that they loved you – so you have nothing to worry about."

"You look like you're mom a lot," The resemblance between Dana and Eve was remarkable noticeable from their eyes to the same way their curls would bounce again. The mother and daughter connection was clear, physically and emotionally, "But I'm glad she likes me. That is what I'm really happy about."

The Latina turned over and saw the swarm of relatives coming their way and said, "Well, you met my parents but now it's time to meet the rest of them – all thirty something of them."

**X__x__x__x__X**

It was a normal dinner between the two of them – like it has always been. Both would joke around, make funny comments about fellow students they had disliked and just have plain old fun. Kelly brought the fun out of Evan and Evan did the same for Kelly. There had not been a time where they would talk and it didn't involve a laugh here and a chuckle over here. The whole setting was nice. It was this brand new Italian place over by the pier that had recently opened up and it definitely had satisfied both their carvings.

Her hand came forward and took her diet soda in her hand, sipping on it before placing it back onto the table. As this whole conversation was full of laughter, Kelly had another agenda on her mind, "Would you mind if I ask you a question Evan?"

Taking his focus off of his plate, the spontaneous man took a moment to look up at his friend across from him, "Sure Kel – you can ask me. We're friends so I see no harm in asking a simple question."

"Well, it's not that simple. I wouldn't call this a simple question," It was an odd way to approach this question for her. The result was what was really going to scare her because – as much as she knew Evan – she wasn't exactly sure on how exactly he'd react to this whole thing.

"You know, you've been there for me so long. This whole catastrophe with Phil and then Alicia, you were there with me and you know, I couldn't be any grateful. I never had such a wonderful friendship with anyone until you came along. I swear, you're like my best friend," A smile crept over her face and he returned it with one of his own.

"Kel, you know I'd be there for you. You're my friend and I never leave my friend to fend for herself. You've done a lot for me – especially when I was the new kid and you didn't leave my side – think of this as returning the favor," His response was honest and the truth. How more honest could he have been?

"What are friends for? But, there's something more to it," Kelly tucked the strand of hair behind her ear, before she began once again, "I feel like you did this for something more. Like, you had a different agenda behind this whole thing – do you get where I'm coming from. Are you understanding what I'm trying to tell you?"

At the moment, Evan had a feeling where this whole thing was going to go. Perhaps Kelly suspected something. Maybe his feelings for her were becoming clearer to the public and wasn't doing the best job in concealing them. Not an idea lurked into his mind on where exactly this whole thing was going, "Kelly, I don't understand what you're trying to say – like, what do you mean by this? You're my friend and I just care about you. Can't a friend just help out?"

"I know you wanted to help because heck I would do the same but, I really feel like you were had different intentions from it – like a different motive other than just helping me out," This mystery was close to be solved; she could feel it.

"I – I, Um –"

The stuttering was a clear cut sign of his nerves getting the best of him. Evan was on the edge of just tipping over and spilling everything out but could he or couldn't he? Can he just come straight forward? A sudden feeling of heat came across him and an empty feeling arose into his chest. He couldn't bare it anymore and was seconds away from just imploding. The feeling was that Kelly just wanted the truth and as a friend, she deserved it but what if this was a truth she couldn't handle? A truth that would put a strain on their relationship? A truth that he couldn't keep a secret any longer?

"Evan, is there something you want to tell me?" Asked the curious blonde and Evan was seconds away from just exploding out the his bulky temple.

"Fine!" He had enough of this interrogation. If the truth is what she wants – it's the truth she is going to get.

"You want the truth," The tone in his voice got much louder than it was before and for once, Kelly was seeing a side of Evan she had never seen before, "Kelly, I did this all not because you're my friend but because I liked you."

_He liked me? _To say the least, she was shocked that Evan did have feelings for her. Never in her life did she expect this.

"And I never told you – why? Because I feared this would ruin our friendship and by the look of it, It has," Abruptly, he stood up and felt as if he couldn't me there anymore. His secret was out and now, he and Kelly couldn't be friends any longer. This would just be completely awkward and he didn't want to afford it so the best thing right now was to leave, "I knew this would be a bad idea, I should just leave."

The young Bourne quickly retorted out of the restaurant, leaving Kelly there completely stunned. She took a chance and stood up to say, "Evan, Don't go –" But he was already gone. Maybe this was a huge mistake. Maybe some things are better left unsaid but no, she had to go open up this wound that perhaps could never be close but even with this whole thing said and done, she only forgot to tell him that she felt the same exact way for him.

* * *

**A/N: **So Happy with the outcome of this chapter!  
So obviously, the three pairings are Ted/Maryse, Eve/Cody & Evan/Kelly - which is your favorite so far?  
Another quick note, New Poll is up! Please vote! I need your opinions!  
And last but certainly not least, Please be generous and review! More reviews make me extremely happy!


	13. Impressing Into Your Heart

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirteen_ - Impressing Into Your Heart

A smile rose upon on her gentle cheeks. The house was all hers – well, for the night at least but tomorrow morning, she'll wake up to see him both of them back.

Lucky for Eve, she would not be alone tonight. Kelly was spending the night for some much needed bonding; gossiping and two ice cream cartons, one chocolate chip and the blonde spending the night had her choice of strawberry. Spoon in one hand and carton in other, the pair dug deep into the messy cartons aiming to get large chunks of ice cream to enjoy.

"This is wonderful," Right off the bat, her feelings about being alone for a little while was made known to the public and she open her mouth to the public when she tossed in a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, "Ice cream, my best friend and no parents – could this be any more wonderful than it is right now?"

"I can't exactly put my finger on it but I don't think anything could top this. When you told me, I thought that you were just going to bring Cody over and enjoy some time with him but I have to say, I was surprised when you asked me," She smiled before devouring the spoon, "But let me be the first to say, thank you. Thank you for choosing your me over your boyfriend."

Jitters of laughter rumbled out of Eve. Kelly's personality was a sweet one; one Eve loved very much, "Well, don't get to flattered. Cody would have came but his brother had some award ceremony so he couldn't come. This all led to one choice – that would be you."

"I wasn't the first choice?" In a shocking manner, Kelly dropped her spoon into the carton and grasped her chest, "How could you? I – Kelly Blank – was you're second choice. I shall settle for nothing less than that," The Latina responded with a blank look with didn't take moments to break as they were both in the midst of laughter seconds later before Kelly spoke yet again, "But really, you haven't told me about you and Cody. How is everything between you two? You said he met your parents."

If there was someone Eve could tell everything to, Kelly would be that girl. Since the beginning of this journey to Beverly Hills, Kelly hadn't left her side. Sure, they had a few ups and downs but every friendship has their time when they don't agree or don't approve of something. All we do is move on and look onto the future. Her relationship wasn't that opened to her friends but she needed a gal pal to talk about these different things to.

"Honestly, it's wonderful," Sweet and simple, that was Eve's response and it couldn't be any more correct, "Like, I've had past relationships with other guys but this one is much different. I've dated jerks and inexperienced fools but Cody, he's different and I like it. He's caring, loving and sweet – I couldn't find a guy any better than him and I'm just so happy to have him. My parents even love him and I do too."

For a moment, Kelly paused taking in those last words that Kelly had said. Slowly she took her head up, narrowing her eyes at the Latina, "Could we rewind for a moment and say that last sentence you were just saying?"

"My Parents even love him," A movement of Kelly's hand in a circular pattern was confusing her. All Kelly wanted was for a continuation of the sentence Eve previously preached, "That's what I said. That's all."

"No you didn't," Kelly caught the brunette in her fib, "You said you loved him and don't lie and say you didn't. Spit it out Eve."

Was she? How could she be? Eve couldn't be in love. She was only sixteen and didn't know the real meaning of what love is. Sure, she liked Cody for a long time but they've only been dating for two months and it couldn't be love. It just couldn't be but the way she felt. It was like this amazing feeling that would come across her body, from head to toe. Was that love creeping its way to her?

She slipped her tongue out and licked off the ice cream that remained on her tinted red lips, "Kelly, I just don't want to get into it now. I love the point where our relationship is standing at. It's perfect and I don't want to question anything now. I just want to keep it the way it is."

"Alright, I won't say another peep," She proceeded to use her hand to zip her lip and toss away the key right at the end, "But, now that we are on a similar topic like that, I need to tell you something."

The Latina's hand crawled over Kelly's, sensing that what she was about to tell her was something quiet serious, "You know you can tell me anything – isn't that what best friends are for after all?"

Hearing the calm and soothing words coming from Eve, it gave Kelly that extra push to just go for whatever she was holding back, "I was talking to Evan a few days ago and I always had some sort of suspicious about his intentions through the whole thing that went on with Phil you know. Something didn't add up and he did so much for me. I confronted him after it all and you know what he told me," Eve patiently waited as Kelly took a moment to pause before she continued, "He said that he liked me."

It wasn't much of a surprise to Eve so to say it was shocking wasn't the correct term she would be looking for, "I knew it! I always knew that kid had something for you."

Taken back from what she had said, Kelly thought about any kind of moment or time period where it was obvious that Evan had feelings, "You know and you didn't tell me? So much for this whole best friend thing right?"

"Before you get ahead of yourself, he never said anything. I had a clue that he had some sort of thing for you. Every time he'd see you, I'd see a huge smile across his face. At the mere mention of your name, he would blush and don't get me started about how he would be upset every time he you ditched him to go with Phil. Clear cut signs."

All these signs, Kelly ever once saw. She was so caught up in her own life that she couldn't realize all of the signs that Evan had shown. She was being so selfish and not once taking consideration about everything.

"Really? Everyone but me noticed it. Probably the janitor in our school knows he likes me but not me. What is wrong with me?"

"What are you going to do? You have to talk to him or something – you can't just leave it the way it is. You're going to have to face him and talk to him eventually."

Without a doubt, Eve was right. To avoid this whole thing would be stupid. There would come a time to face it but just how to face it was a mission itself, "I know. You're right Eve but how do I explain to him that I feel the same way?"

**X_x_x_x_X**

A rocky road laid ahead for Randy and his wife, Stacy. Getting through their special arranged lunch together was going to be a mission. Fights and arguments would constantly break out between the two. Whether it revolved around having another child or something completely simple, it would just burst into a full fledge argument that could end up causing both not to speak to each other and Randy spending the night in the guest room other than the king sized bed that they would share at night. Something was legitimately wrong.

But he had no idea. He couldn't understand Stacy's point and Stacy couldn't understand his. This whole thing was odd and it felt as if it was never going to get better but only going to get worse so he hoped that having a calm and relaxing lunch together would do the couple some good and no more bad. This path they were on - it wasn't the best one for them and they had to get off of it and go back to the way everything was.

The coach of the West Beverly football team and physical education waited patiently in the principal office, awaiting for his wife to arrive. Growing impatient, his feet took him up and down the floor in front of the main office's front desk and that's when he paused and heard sobbing coming from another room.

Randy guided his feet over, following the somewhat loud noise of sobbing and it seemed to be coming from the principal's office. Randy peaked inside and found a brunette's head, laying on the desk with arms wrapped around it. Raising his knuckle, he gently knocked on the door greeting the woman, "Dawn, is everything okay? Are you crying?"

In response, Dawn would slowly bring her head. Her eyes a bright red color and puffy and the visible tears crawling down her cheeks. To be strong, Dawn just wiped them away, "Yeah, everything is fine. It's nothing but thanks for your concern."

Randy stepped forward, coming up on her desk, "It honestly doesn't seem like it's alright. You know you can tell me."

As Randy leaned onto the desk, he looked down on the young woman. Dawn looked up and smiled, "Thanks but I know your busy. Torrie said you were going out to lunch with Stacy so you should go be with her. My things can wait."

As much as he wanted to go out and see Stacy, he couldn't just leave the woman there. The bigger man pulled up a chair up to her desk, "Stacy won't mind. I mean, we can do it any other day. I'll just shoot her a text and she'll be okay with it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive - Stacy is understanding. It's probably one of the reasons I married her in the first place," Said Randy as he pulled out his cell phone, preparing to write a quick text message.

_Can't make it to lunch today. Substituting a class but we'll do it tomorrow._

**X_x_x_x_X**

Rummaging through her clutter of books in the small locker of hers, Eve Torres was in desperate search of her biology book. Though she dreaded the class with such a passion, she had to suck it up and deal with it. If she planned on graduating next year, she had to get this class out of the way.

The moment she had shut her locker door, a grueling and grimacing face emerged from behind it. It was would Mike Mizanin also known to the residents of West Beverly by the nickname of The Miz. If you could define a jerk, a class clown and a overall pain in the ass, you would come across the Miz's name in the dictionary. On the very first day of class, Miz had given Eve a very bad impression and since then, Eve has tried her best to avoid him but today, she failed.

"Mike, Can I help you with something?" A noticeable angry Eve asked him, "Because I really have no time to deal with your nonsense."

"Eve, take a chill pill. Who says I'm here to bother you? I know me and you – well, we didn't get off on the right foot but I was hoping that maybe we could restart this whole friendship we had going and just start off from the beginning. What'd a say?"

The temptation of the accepting his proposal was quickly swept away and diminished within seconds of him asking and soon a quirky smile eluded onto her lips, "Mike – I mean Miz, the offer is tempting; believe me but I'm going to have to decline so if you excuse me, I have a class to attend too."

Once she moved, he moved to, blocking her from leaving, "Okay, Okay. I see what you want. You don't want a friendship, you want something more," His signature smirk came into play, "I knew you didn't want to be friends and I know you want a shot at me but Eve, it's not easy being with me. It's complicated and takes time to please me but if you're up for that challenge, I'll be willing to accept."

She laughed because to be honest there was nothing else she could have done anyway, "Miz, first there is no challenge. Second, I have a boyfriend who is a better person than you so I'm not interested. Take this little challenge and go to some other girl who is dumb enough to except your challenge. Perhaps Maryse?"

"What? Seriously Eve – you think that pathetic excuse of a boyfriend of yours is better than me? Come on, Cody is nothing but some low life loser who is pathetic. He's the definition of one so why don't you ditch him and come toss that ball in my court and me and you can have a round?"

If his eyebrows rising up and down in a fluid motion meant something, it was far from good and closer to sexual intentions, "Miz, I said no thank you. No thank you means no thank you so if you'll get out of my way, I'll be leaving."

And once again, he blocked her from leaving and the facial expression he was wearing was telling a different story, "The Miz isn't a big fan of the word – no but he likes the word Yes much more so if you would just say yes, this will all be much –"

"Hey!" A voice from the background growled at the Miz. Miz looked forward and much to his displeasure, Eve's boyfriend was making his way over here. The Latina turned around and felt relieve to see him come to her rescue, "Eve, is there something wrong here?"

"Miz was just asking me something and was just about to leave, right?"

The Miz nodded. He back off from the both of them and went his own separate way. Cody wrapped his arms around Eve's waist and planted a kiss on her forehead, "What the hell was the creep doing to you?"

Eve quickly recollected her thoughts and turned her body facing Cody, "It was nothing. He was just being the Miz I guess but thanks for helping me out though."

"I wasn't just going to leave you like that – never," As Cody concluded his sentence, he was preparing for something very special to present to Eve. A special gift to her – one he hoped that she would like a lot, "Now, I have a bit of a surprise for you. I'm not sure if you're going to love this but I have a feeling you're really going to like it – a lot."

Confusion emerged on Eve's part. Not a clue of what exactly could this surprise be but by the sound of it, it sounded very appealing to her. The way Cody was trying to act all mysterious gave her the appeal that this is going to be some huge, "Don't keep me in suspense any longer," Demanded Eve as the anticipation was killing her.

"Well. I hope you're parents will be okay with this but," With his hand, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out four pieces of paper with detailed writing written on them both, "How would you like to go to Miami with me for Winter break for a nice four day getaway from these hills?"

A gasp said it all. She was in shock. Never had she been surprised like this by anyone especially a guy. In response, she tossed her hands around his neck and squeezed just about as hard as she could, nearly stopping blood from flowing through his body, "I would love too. Oh my god, Miami! Miami!" The shrieks coming from her mouth were full of happiness and excitement.

A Sun-filled and Beach bum getaway waited for the couple, in only just two weeks.

**X_x_x_x_X**

There was not any indication in the world whatsoever to what was leading Maryse to the basement of the school. All she did was listen to the text that Ted has sent her explaining to meet him in the basement of the school to work on their project. Maybe this was something he was planning – some sort of rendezvous so that they can finally release their feelings for eachother.

Maryse's feelings for Ted were made known clear and obvious. There was this attraction, one she couldn't exactly describe but it was strong. Maybe today was the day Ted was going to let go of himself and let their attraction take them wherever they want to go.

The stench was reeking and unpleasant. It was a place where Maryse would be caught dead in – which she was not – but she hoped this whole thing would pay off. The appearance of a raking noise uttered through the abandon hallways. The blonde followed the sound not expecting where it was going to lead her. The noise got further and further louder. The moment Maryse was creeping around the corner, she discovered the source of the noise.

Two fists, wrapped in a pair of black gloves were striking the large punching bag hanging from the ceiling. The fists belonged to who she was looking for. His fists slammed into the punching bag as if it was nothing. The sweat produced from the whole workout slid down his body and arms and Maryse, well – she couldn't exactly control herself.

"So this is how we are going to finish our project? I'm going to watch you," The way it sounded, it sounded more like she was enjoying it then regretting this, "you just hit that thing hanging on the ceiling."

He stopped the punching bag from moving and tossed off his gloves, "That sounded more like you liked watching me," He answered with a smirk.

Maryse just laughed, "Oh please Ted – you think that I would just enjoy a large sweaty man just hitting a something that looks like a sleeping bag. I'm actually here to finish our project which we should have finished like a week ago. Styles is going to have our ass if we don't finish this."

"Styles can kiss my ass," An eye roll came with his response when he tossed back on his white t-shirt, "History's pointless. Like I care about some people who were in some cave or a group of pathetic protesters; This paper can go to hell along with my grade."

"Yeah, me too," Well, not really. Maryse was only saying anything to impress the guy – just anything. She didn't want to fail but if she agreed, she thought it would be music to his sweet ears, "To hell with the paper."

Ted glanced up and smirked, "No, not you. You need to do this paper so that's why," And the moment he said that, Ted stood up and headed for the door, "You can finish paper and give us both A's."

He disappeared after that and Maryse wasn't upset but nor happy. She was stuck with it. But, remember, She'd do anything to impress him.

**X_x_x_x_X**

If you know somehow well enough, you'll know a thing a two about them. You may know about their favorite hobbies, pet peeves, favorite colors and what they love on their hotdog unless they are a vegetarian. Kelly knew a thing or two about Evan. One thing she knew was that he loved this small private beach, just ten minutes out of Beverly Hills and Kelly was there – hoping that maybe with all knowledge of the free spirit boy, she'd find him here.

Her silver car pulled into a parking spot, just with the sunset coming down and the tide beginning to climb up onto the shore. The next moment she was out and found a empty beach, with only the exception of a few surfers and a swimmer here and there. The closer she got to the edge of the cliff, she spotted someone not too far away; hands in pocket and that familiar dark hairstyle of his.

Her feet would make these small little footprints in the sand and it would lead a trail to who she was looking for. He didn't feel her coming nor see her as he stood there, gazing into the Pacific Ocean. Kelly came right beside him and didn't move a muscle until she decided to say something.

"I can see why you come here," He jumped. In his instant reaction, he faced her as she continued to speak, "This beach is just beautiful and really quiet and calm unlike those other ones back home."

Those lips of his pursed together and he nodded, "How'd you know I was here? Did you go to my house and ask my mom our something?"

"Well, for the past year and a half, I've learned a thing about you. I know you like baseball, You prefer mustard on your hamburger than ketchup and I know you love to come to this beach because it's the only beach that's close enough where you can actually her yourself think. I know the whole stereotype about Blondes being stupid but this blonde is an exception."

"Of course you aren't stupid; you're smart. You're also pretty damn good seeker in this whole game," Finally, he uttered a laugh, "And I guess you can say I'm a good hider too."

"Couldn't find you for weeks but as great of a hider you are, I'm just as a good seeker and whoever seeks something, will find it," A moment of silence emerged before she continued, "And that something I'm looking for is to talk to you."

His head, followed by his body made a ninety degree turn and those brown eyes of his locked onto hers, "So talk – it's what you came here to do."

It annoyed her by the way he was acting but obviously he wasn't in the right mind set or good mood, "I was hoping we can talk. That last time we talk – well, I can't say it went well because it didn't. It surely didn't."

"Have you come to open up that wound again? It was hard to sew it back up and I'm not going to get it opened up again," His heart was broken. He thought the moment he revealed it all to Kelly, that his heart was just going to break and it did. He never had a chance with her and it killed him that he knew that.

"Give me a chance to talk Evan. You didn't give me a chance then and now you're not giving me a chance."

"I gave you a chance and you took it. You took me and crushed me," His voice was getting louder in strength and darker in tone, "I'm not a rag doll that you can just toss around like nothing. I'm a human being just like you."

He didn't want to listen and it annoyed her. His arrogance and expectation wasn't helping the situation. The best thing to do was to blurt it out since Evan wasn't going to let her do it on his terms, "Just listen to me."

"I'm sick of listening."

She's had enough. Enough was certainly enough at this point.

"I feel the same way you do."

And at that moment, he stood there – frozen like a Popsicle and didn't move an inch. He wasn't sure if she said what he really though she had said. _She likes me too?_ And with that he paused. A silence emerged between the two. It was awkward but necessary for Evan to take in the news. She did kind of just toss it onto her but hey, it was the only way to just get her to say something.

For that second, that moment he had, he took it all in. For once, a girl – a girl who he liked – felt the same exact way. He didn't know how to feel. Sad or Happy? Angry or Greatful? It was a mix of emotions but Happiness was standing out.

Kelly had not an idea at all what she should do at the moment. She came closer to him and skimmed his cheek. Both gazing into their eyes and in an instant, something he'd be waiting for and something she'd wanted to do for a long time. As fast as the second past, Kelly took her smooth lips and pressed it against his. The moment itself was sweet and passionate.

As the two pulled away, they both took in this moment. Both relieved and satisfied, this moment was the ever perfect moment.

"Evan, I want this to work. I want a chance. I want a chance with you," She smiled, "I want to give this a shot. I finally want a normal relationship with a person I trust, a person I cherish and a person that cares about me just as much as I care about him."

And with that, Evan said, "I'll be him if you'll be mine," Her nodded set it all and they sealed it with another kiss. It appears to be true – good things come to those who wait.

* * *

**A/N:** Here's another chapter - sorry it's taken so long. Blame my laziness!  
Now, it's short but i'll make it next chapter. I can't wait for it since it's going to be interesting.  
Vote on the poll as well - that story should be up soon as well.  
Thanks for reading and PLEASE review! :)


	14. Life's a Beach

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Fourteen_ - Life's a Beach

For one West Beverly junior, her winter break was going to consist of only a few things. Bikinis, sunglasses and beaches. As for that afternoon, Maryse chose a sultry black bikini top to take to the beach with her.

The moment she found a good spot, Maryse didn't waste time in making it her own, followed by applying tanning oil onto her body, though she is tanner than a New Jersey guido, she didn't care. The darker; the better. All she hoped was she wasn't going to turn into a lobster color.

Surfers had taken over the beach. There wasn't an empty board in that water. Much to her dismay, Maryse wasn't a big fan of surfers. Mainly due to that fact that she believes it's a sloppy and messy sport and always played by some losers. It wasn't her cup of tea.

With her towel on the ground, Maryse's shades slid down her face, the French diva placed herself in the specific position where she'd receive the proper amount of rays, hitting the exact spots of the body she wanted. There wasn't going to be a spot on her body that was going to nice and glowing.

As quickly as she laid down, was as quickly a nearby surfer dropped her board with water and sand flying right onto her precious body. She uttered a screech in response and quickly stood up in response to see the girl who had dropped it was already reaching the parking lot. She growled under her breath. Now you know why Maryse hates surfers.

But maybe now - maybe now she'll change her mind. It was then when she turned around and found a familiar face standing before her with a surfboard in his hand.

"Ted, what are you doing here?" It was as if she was surprised but secretly trying to hide how happy she was to have him here. It gave her a little eye candy to have at the beach while she repeatedly gets tan over her tan.

"Paid my five bucks to get in here and now, I'm going to ride some waves," Answered Ted with a smirk, "And I heard that we got a B in our report. Way to go Partner, you really impressed me. We should team up more often."

_How about we team in my bed?_ While dirty thoughts and images ran through her head, Maryse ran her hand through her hair, "I got my maid to help with it," While that was a lie, she forgot to cross out the part where she did nothing and her maid did the whole thing. But whatever he didn't know, wouldn't hurt him.

Ted looked out onto the ocean and gazed at the sight of the waves, "Waves are looking great today. I better get out there before anyone else gets a taste of these waves," And the moment he saw the surfboard beside Maryse, it prompted a question, "Is that a surfboard? You surf?"

She hated it. She would never be caught doing it nor has any idea how to use a surfboard, "I actually -" And in that moment, that light bulb in her head just managed to light up. It wasn't a good idea but it just wasn't that bad either, "I - I love surfing. I've been surfing for years. I surfed on those tall waves and those small ones. Actually, my dad got Kelly Rowland to help train me."

"Kelly Rowland is a singer, not a surfer. You mean Kelly Slater?"

A laugh was probably her only way to just forget about the whole thing and she smiled, "I always get those two confused. Kelly Slater helped me surf and Kelly Rowland helped me build my vocal chords. I'm just so silly."

"So you want to come with me?" He extended the invitation to her, "Show me what Kelly Slater showed you."

"Um," What the hell did she get herself into? And important thing of them all, how is she going to get out of this thing? This is where stupidity takes you. Maryse took the board, dusting off the sand, "Okay, let's go."

And her final thought before she went out into the seat with him would be, _Please let me come back alive._

_

* * *

_

It felt rocky - that is, Randy and Stacy's relationship. Things haven't exactly been the same. It seemed that only Stacy saw it; Randy thought everything was perfectly fine. She had made small attempts over time to help them connect more but it would work sometimes but not all the time.

Chances for them to just enjoy themselves as a couple were shot down and Randy was more fixated on things that don't even matter. Materialistic objects and nothing that really related them as a couple. The past week Stacy had tried to take Randy out to dinner on two separate occasions but "something" came up and he couldn't make it. And days they didn't have anything planned, it was so lack luster. It could be the fact that Stacy wants to expand the family but he doesn't. It could be so many other things.

That afternoon, he was taking a nap while Stacy decided to make him a special pasta that he always loved hoping that maybe this would spark something. It sounded silly but she wanted something to just make him happy and make herself happy. To see him smile, makes her smile.

At the moment she was preparing for the final touches on the dish, Randy came in in his gym shorts and t-shirt. It seemed as if he was going to go to the gym. The blonde greeted him with a smile, "Hey - I made you're favorite."

With what appeared to be a grim look, Randy just observed the blonde before he placed down his cell phone onto the kitchen counter, "You know I'm on a strict diet and I wouldn't eat that kind of pasta. You know how long it takes for me to burn that all?"

A bit disappointed, Stacy just took the plate and tossed it into the garbage, "Well, I'm sorry. I'll try and keep record of every time you're on a diet. I'm not weight watchers you know."

"Just," With the palm of his hand, he traced it over his face and let out a sigh, "I'm not eating. I won't eat dinner either. I have to meet AJ at the gym in a few and I've got tickets to the Lakers game. I'll be home late," He scrolled down his schedule for the evening when he noticed he received a message on his phone, where he actually smiled.

Quick to notice it, it prompted Stacy to begin to speculate. It's been a few weeks since she's seen a smile, "What's so funny?"

And right back into his normal mode, he didn't laugh nor smile. Just a plain gesture as he placed his phone down, "AJ sent me this chain thing. Nothing fancy or anything."

"Alright."

"I'll see you later."

The larger man exited the kitchen but forgot his phone, laying it onto the counter. A silent moment presented itself. It was juts Stacy staring at the phone. She knew that it held so many things she probably didn't know about but her whole thing with privacy and respecting others privacy was stopping her. With Randy keeping to himself, he was closed book and how much Stacy just wanted to open it up and see everything.

And it may be that he left his book at home today.

Stacy walked forward and stood before the phone. Just before anything happened, consequences of her actions were pulled together and than at that moment she wondered if what she was doing the right thing. If there were secrets, she deserved to know - after all, in a marriage there shouldn't be any secrets.

Stacy took a hold of the phone and quickly went down the call list. It was a mainly her name, Mom, AJ and Torrie on the list but what surprised her the most was reading Dawn's name on the list. And when she went in for more information, these calls with Dawn would last for hours unlike her calls with Randy which would last a seconds.

Her heart was just breaking at this whole sight. What would be even more painful would be looking at the text messages he had received in the past. Pressing the button for inbox, she scrolled down and with every scroll, pieces of her heart were just falling onto the ground and shattering.

Dawn. Dawn. Dawn was all she saw.

Message after message and these weren't the size of little message but something you'd write to someone who lived half way across the world and that you would never see. The most recent one had to catch Stacy's eye.

_Thanks for staying with me for lunch. I know you had plans with Stacy but I'm glad you decided to stay with me. You don't know how much I appreciated it and enjoyed my time with you. We should definitely do that again sometime. We can go out to dinner next week. I've got plenty of places we should try out. Thanks - Dawn_

And it just continued.

_Thanks for helping me move some of my things in the apartment. A weak girl like me can't lift things that a strong man like you can. I'll definitely have to take you out for coffee as a thank you. See you at work - D_

And continued.

_Call me right after you're done with AJ at the gym. I know this small Thai place right across town that has some of the best noodle and some amazing wine. Look forward to seeing you tonight - Dawn xx_

Liar. A full fledged liar. With her finger, she traced it around her eye to remove the tear that was coming to surface. That empty feeling you would get inside when something breaks your heart - well, that came and it just crushed her.

Instantly, she snapped when she suddenly heard the door open. Right away she took the phone and placed it back on the counter before Randy reemerged, finally realizing he had forgotten his phone, "I forgot my phone."

Stacy took it back in her hand and handed to him, "I won't be home tonight. I'm going to my mom's tonight and I'll be back tomorrow with the kids. Call me if you need anything."

To be in this house, someone need to strap her down to the floor and silence her. It's to painful and she needed to get out of here and be somewhere relaxing where some people actually care about her.

He nodded in response and practically ran out. Not even a kiss goodbye for his wife.

* * *

Finally! After what felt like the longest flight of there lives Eve, Cody, Kelly and Evan finally had arrived in Miami. Their eyes were currently glued to the window of their hotel room where they had a killer view of the beach along with what looked like the hundreds of tourists that were filling it up.

It was Hot, Humid and Sunny. Sounded just like Florida weather these days. While Eve and Kelly enjoyed the view of the water, Cody and Evan couldn't keep their eyes off a different view. The amount of females that was surrounding the beaches in their bikinis. Though they were both in a relationship, looking at a girl isn't bad.

"I'm unpacking like right now because I really want to get down there - like as soon as possible," She murmured out loud, "I'm off to find my bikini and I'm heading right there." It didn't take long for Eve to jump into her bedroom to grab her bikini.

"And let me give you a hand," Cody followed her right inside, leaving Evan and Kelly alone.

Evan and Kelly explored the penthouse suite and soon found themselves out on a balcony observing the view of the beaches. It was finally a chance for the couple to be together and discover one another on different levels. For the past year, they've been friends so they haven't exactly gotten a chance to know each other like a couple.

It was a big transition but both were willing and committed to the whole thing. Evan leaned onto the balcony and gazed at the view, "So many girls here, pretty ones too."

A hard slap onto his shoulder was what he received from his girlfriend, "You keep those eyes here and nowhere else okay? If I see them lurking, I'll take a scalpel and take them out so you can't see anything - ever."

"Whoa! Just joking. No need to get graphic in how you plan on destroying my vision," Evan smiled, "But this being our first trip, as a couple, I figure we should do something fun together."

"I don't care what we do. I just care that I'm here with you. Let's just have fun and let loose. I mean, we have no parents; no one in charge - we've got to embrace this and have some fun."

Kelly was a free spirit. Of the four, Kelly loved taking risks and didn't care what would happen. It was all about living in the moment and just embracing everything about it. Especially with being on vacation, it made the whole situation even better. Not one of them had a rules. What could their parents, who are thousands of miles away, do to them here? Answer is nothing.

"I say we do something completely crazy and outrageous," Kelly offered on the table, "So, I hope you don't mind but I signed us up for something while we were here. I signed up for us to swim with some dolphins at the marina later today. Think of it as a little present from me in honor of our relationship."

It worried Evan that Kelly had preplanned something for them to do and what did he have planned? Nothing. He didn't expect this and he really wanted to impress her. Impress her enough so he could forget about the friend, Evan Bourne and look onto the boyfriend, Evan Bourne. Now, how was he going to top this?

"Dolphins - that's cool. I can't wait."

"Perfect, we're going tonight. I'm going to go get ready for the beach okay?"

And with that she left and in exchange for her, Cody came waltzing in gazing at his idea of a view, "Evan, Check out that girl over there. The one in the pink. Damn!" His viewing was getting a little out of hand.

"I've got a problem."

Cody patted Evan on his back, "What's the problem man? Maybe I can help you out."

"It's about Kelly," Cody muttered away while he looked out onto the beach, "Kelly planned something for me and her and like, I didn't do anything. I haven't planned anything for her and I feel like a fool because she's really into our relationship and I don't know what to do. I wanted to do something to show her I'm not just a friend and that I'm her boyfriend. I want to do something special and exciting but I just don't know what."

As a friend, It was Cody's duty to advise Evan in situations like this and he was going to do just that, "I bet you're worried. Listen, do something special. Think of what she likes and surprise her. Kelly's a good girl and you're not stupid so you'll think of something. You've got four days to do something."

And that's when he felt reassured. There was time to do something and plenty of time to think of something. For now, it's what Kelly said, just live in the moment.

* * *

You sometimes see the weirdest things crash up against the California shoreline. Sometimes you see bottles, plastic bags and cans. But on this day, something else crashed onto the shore, along with a surfboard. That would be Maryse crashing against the shore.

Once she retreated from the ocean, she was breathless but not in a good way. Her tanner body reached the shore and she crawled up onto the shore, soaked and completely out of breath.

Never am I going to do this again. Maryse turned over and faced the sky. Her chest was rising up and down at a steady pace and couldn't be happier that she was touching land and wasn't struggling for her life while surfing.

Beside her, Ted came ashore and didn't look at all as if he was hurt or tired. Heck, he'd go back out there but he noticed that something was up with Maryse. When he discovered the blonde wiped out on the shore, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Kelly Slater's training really worked well. It looked like you were the surfboard," While he laughed, Maryse groaned and picked herself up. She adjusted up her bikini to make sure nothing was popping out that she didn't want anyone to see.

"I'm use to much better waves then these," Her angry was being taken out on the waves and not the fact that she was lying to him the whole time. She stood by her decision to lie and wasn't going to make a fool out of herself – not that she hasn't done so already, "Next time, I'll do better."

Trying to squirt out any leftover water in her hair, a larger couple, one male and one female stomped their way over to them and both looked extremely upset. Maryse was taken by surprise, "Can I help you?"

The larger female stepped forward in a threatening way, "You stole my board and you broke it in half you blonde dimwit!"

"I didn't –" Maryse took the chance to see what this female was speaking about and there, laying on the shore was a board broken in half, "Oh well, yeah. It's broken."

"You stole it and broke it. Pay up princess or I'll beat it out of you."

"You hear that?" It sounded like a southern accent and it was creepy. It had belonged to the male, which obviously was her boyfriend but certainly not the better half of the pair, well according to Maryse at least, "Or you can give us those nice pretty earrings of yours in exchange."

"Hey!" Ted stepped in and confronted the pair in defense of the blonde "Shouldn't you two be on some farm? You guys think you can come up in here looking so god damn ugly. You're parents must be cousins or siblings that they conceived such farm animals."

"Hey, don't call me –"

Ted got right into the man's face and glared at him, "What are you going to do? Call you're hillbilly family to help you?"

The two of them walked backwards slowly and then quickly vanished from the presence of the two of them. Maryse sighed with some relief to have gotten rid of those two and it gave her a reason to take more of a liking in Ted. That mystery about him got her and now his badass side was reeling her in more in.

* * *

With a week off and having pretty much nothing to do, Torrie decided to have a day to herself. Massage, Manicure and Pedicure was calling her name so that explains why she was a spa, currently getting her pedicure finished up. Her iced coffee was resting on the little table beside her and she had some company. An old friend popped into town to join the blonde for a day of relaxation.

Candice Michelle was back in Beverly Hills.

The petite blonde had such a big whirlwind of change in the past few years. Her life was completely transformed after the death of her former beau, John Bradshaw Layfield but she wasn't to upset about it. JBL, as they liked to call him, left a large sum of money for Candice which she eventually shared with her husband, Dave Batista.

The duo was now living in Sin City where Dave opened up a restaurant in one of the many casinos located on the strip and we're enjoying life for once. She had nothing to worry about - well, except a little girl. Dave and her were unexpectedly gifted with a baby girl named Hannah just a couple of months ago.

Motherhood has been a blessing since it all. Every moment she enjoyed being with the little girl but she needed a little bit of a break - that explains her arrival in Beverly Hills for a few days. Dave insisted that she get a chance to relax and he volunteered to watch the little girl for a few days.

And what a way to relax. Having a massage and getting your nails done? It was a perfect little girls day out.

Torrie for one was definitely happy to see her friend. It's tough keeping friendships strong when some move away but it's still strong. She's still keeping it strong with all of her friends and is so grateful because they come in handy when she needs a babysitter.

But for tonight, AJ was going to settle for a babysitter.

"I think this is the first time I've actually gotten a pedicure since I gave birth," While she counted the months in her mind, she came across with an answer, "For about seven months and it feels absolutely amazing."

"It's time to find a babysitter. A more permanent one. I thank everyday that I have my parents and AJ around to help me out. I wouldn't know what the hell to do with myself. Every mother needs a break," Torrie took a sip of her ice coffee, "And we have to cherish this."

Candice nodded, "I know because as quick as this passes, it's as quick as we have to go back. You're lucky you're parents are right here. My mother is like in Tokyo or Sydney right about now and Dave's parents decided to go on a two month long vacation. It's just wonderful."

Torrie felt the pain of the hardships of a mother and felt Candice needed something just to bring herself back to how she normally is and just to enjoy life, "You know, I have a great idea. I think you're going to like this a lot."

"If it involves anything with relaxation and a cosmo, then I think I'll be listening."

Torrie chuckled before presenting her idea, "Why don't we have a girls night? I mean, I can ask Stacy if she can come out tomorrow night and we can all go out. Have some sort of reunion or something and just let us enjoy being girls."

It was music to her ears. Candice was head over heels with the idea, "That's perfect. Have a nice dinner, go to a club and just have fun. Enjoy being a girl for once," At that very moment, Candice admitted, "I just miss this place so much."

* * *

Before any one was up on their feet, Eve crept to her feet and headed down to the Hotel coffee shop to enjoy a nice ice coffee. It was day two in Miami and Eve was even more determined to enjoy these next few days. Her first day here was exciting but she promised to make this day even better.

It was a bit complicated trying to get here in the first place. Her parents weren't very fond of the idea of having their daughter head across the United States with a few friends. Luckily, her parents have the idea that Cody's family is with us. But, whatever they don't know - won't hurt them.

Midway heading down to her room, she caught a man exiting his room. Tall, Mohawk styled hair and a built upper body - Eve found him quickly recognizable. Once he showed his face, all was revealed. Mike 'Miz' Mizazin was in Miami. But how? How is he in Miami - in the same hotel as herself and at the same time? Something clearly wasn't adding up in this solution.

"Miz, What are you doing here?" Eve called out and witnessed the man turning around with that overly familiar cocky smile of his.

"Well, if it isn't my fellow student Eve Torres. I could be asking you the same thing mami," He didn't seem particularly surprised by the whole thing but more content about it and the ring he put to the word mami just gave Eve the chills throughout her body.

"I'm here with my friends," She couldn't just mention friends or he'd get some sort of sick idea, "And with Cody too."

His immediate response to the mention of Cody's name was just a blank look. Never did the Miz even like Cody. Not a time where Miz just thought he was some jock loser, "With Cody? You two have a romantic getaway?" He spoke with the sarcasm present in his voice.

"You can say that…"

"Eve, if you're just saying that to control your urge from throwing yourself on top of me, you can stop you now. He isn't here," That arrogant and cocky smile just kept curving and curving while Eve presented an eye roll, "My bedroom is empty. We can finish this conversation right in between the sheets. It's not a problem."

_Perv_. According to Eve, Miz had to be one of the most disgusting human beings that walks on this planet. His immature and womanizing ways aren't going to lead him anywhere. Eve caught her breath for a moment before returning a glare at the individual, "I would never."

"You probably never had done 'it' yet so you can't be ready," And he leaned back, showing off his body, "You can't be ready to handle this."

"Goodbye."

"If you want a real man, you know my hotel room."

Eve quickly turned around and the Miz stared there, loving to see her leave. What an asshole. I shouldn't listen to him or should I? For a second, Eve wasn't too sure. Cody and herself never have gotten that close - in the physical way. Not once during this whole thing had the topic of sex crossed her mind. The subject was never touched upon but either.

But wait? Cody could be thinking about it and she could be ignoring what he wants. But was she ready for this? That point of the relationship could be coming upon them and she never really thought of it since - she never did it at all.

Upon returning to her hotel room, Kelly was already up fixing something up in the kitchen that was provided. It was time for some advice and only Kelly could give her some real advice.

"Kelly, I seriously need help."

Taking her attention away from slicing up an apple for herself, Kelly could see the worry in Eve's eyes. The Latina had an issue, "I can just look at you and see if you have a problem. What's up? What's the problem?"

"The Miz is here. Here in this hotel and only a couple of hotel rooms down from us."

"What?" Taken by surprised, Kelly could only wonder why the Miz was here in the first place? "I don't get why he's here but what happened? Did he say something to you? Was he being his usually ass self?"

"Well yes, other than acting like a complete jerk - like he does on a normal basis. When he talks, he gets to me. Today, he offered me to sleep with him which I denied but he told me how I never had sex and I wouldn't have sex with Cody and it gets me wondering and guessing. Does Cody want to? Do I want to? Help me - I need you're help in this."

The blonde could see the tough spot Eve was in and it was time for her advisement to come into play, "Listen, it's up to you. If you're ready, go for it. Don't worry about being called a slut or a whore, because that won't happen and if it feels right, you decide if you want to go for it. Every couple has there time and it could be a year in the relationship or one day in it. Everyone's different."

And yet again, Eve's mind was being all stirred up and there's a big decision she has to make very soon.

* * *

There's a time and place where you can have some fun and tonight. Tonight was there night. An ecstatic Torrie and Candice couldn't be happy about tonight while Stacy felt a little dragged when she was coming here. The three ladies were in store for a fun filled night and for one more time, just wanted to be girls again and not have to worry about money, kids or bills. Just have some regular fun.

"Bartender, three shots of patron please," Right off the bat and not wasting anytime, Candice ordered the girls a few shots. Tonight was a night for her to have fun with some of her best friends. The bartender prepared the shots and placed it down for the ladies. Each took one into their hands and raised them up, "Girls, here's too a wonderful night!"

As quickly as she said it was as quickly as those shots went down their throats, all instantly feeling that burn which Torrie and Candice took as nothing but Stacy responded with a cringe look, "I haven't had a shot in probably a year or so," Said the leggy blonde.

Stacy obviously wasn't in any mood to be here. She was still hurt and in pain with discovering Randy's texts. She felt guilty for invading his privacy but the guilt soon went away when she discovered what those texts red.

"Stacy, I know you're a bit under the weather but try to just relax and have some fun," Torrie's gentle hand came across the back of hers and rubbed it, "You're going to have fun."

"I'll make sure you have some fun," Candice pulled Stacy's hand onto the dance floor against her will.

In her purse, Torrie's phone began to vibrate repeatedly. Torrie quickly fussed through her purse to locate the cell phone. On the caller id, it read private. Usually she never picks up these calls worrying that this may be a prank phone call but decided to pick it up anyway.

"Hello."

"Torr -," and it broke off like that.

Her eyes just expanded believing the voice had belonged to John. It can't be, he's dead. She could feel her inside just crushing up with the overwhelming though that it could be John. It sounded just like him.

"Hello? John - is that you?"

"Tor - it's me, J-" Said the voice but Torrie still couldn't make out who it was on the other line.

"John, Is that you?"

The phone went dead. The line was cut off and Torrie was left there bringing her phone down to her waist. She shut it and put it back into her purse and wondered if that may have really been John or some sort of sick joke.

She ran down the facts and concluded it just couldn't be John but a part of her - a very small part - really thought it was really him.

* * *

Back in Miami, Evan was in the midst of preparation of a special night for Kelly and himself. It was D-day for him. He wanted to show Kelly that he just wasn't her friend anymore. He still was her friend but something more. She had gotten the chance to get to know him as a friend but now, he was her boyfriend and he wanted to show her that side and only that side. Friendship was aside and put his true feelings out there.

So to show his "I'm not your friend now but now your boyfriend side" and just to show a different side so she could get to know him on a different level.

His plan was as followed.

Plan a romantic outing on the beach with some help from a restaurant. But there was one problem. That restaurant wasn't there. It use to be there and now it's a abandon restaurant right off the beach.

_Just perfect. _Kelly was going to be here any second now and he had nothing. He just had himself, the sand and the beach. Oh and the moon just staring down at him. _Probably the moon is even laughing at me. I couldn't google some info on this place. I'm such an idiot._

And in the distance, Kelly was arriving. She had on a beautiful red strapless dress that she was told to wear since this place was really fancy and high class. Guess again Blondie. It was easy to read the confused look on her face as she was approaching Evan. All the blonde saw was the Evan standing there, dressed nicely and the water coming up and down the shore. Analyzing his facial expression to figure out he was upset.

Kelly stepped forward and tried to smile, "Something wrong? I feel like this evening you planned didn't go as correctly as it intended it too."

Taking a chance to breath, Evan glazed at the ocean before he was about to speak, "All I wanted to do was to surprise you and give you the most amazing time ever but your boyfriend failed – miserably."

"You were going to surprise me?" That feeling came over her and it made her feel so special that Evan would go out of his way to surprise her with something but she couldn't pinpoint what it was at the moment.

"I wanted to impress you," He started to explain, "I wanted to show you that I was more than just your friend. I wanted to show you a different side to me. I had this whole thing planned out that we'd go to this restaurant that has its own live band and just have some fun. You planned the whole dolphin thing and I just wanted to equal that or top that. I just wanted to you feel impressed and happy that you have me are your boyfriend."

Never had a guy go far enough to impress her at all and she believed that this had to be the first time she had ever been impressed by any guy. The fact that he planned something, though it didn't work, really made her feel extra special and grateful to have someone like him.

"The fact that you even planned something like this just makes me happy," The blonde took his hand as she locked her eyes with his, "No one ever even planned anything like this. Sure, this didn't go the way you planned but the thought of you trying to do something special makes me feel special."

"Really?"

"Of course. I mean, so what if this place is closed? Let's just go have fun. We're in Miami of all cities so let's just do something," Her lips couldn't come across with the exact word until she looked out into the ocean, "completely spontaneous!"

And that is when Kelly began to remove her shoes and tossed them into the sand. Evan looked over completely confused, "What are you doing?"

"This!"

Kelly raced into the ocean and just began to play in the water, kicking it and splashing it around. Her inner five year old was coming out as the water caused to ruin her straight hair and dress but she didn't care. All she was doing was living in the moment.

"Come on in! This feels amazing."

Evan quickly tossed off his shoes and made his way into the water, getting in touch with his inner child as well. Laughter and splashing was all that could be heard. Evan continued to heavily splash the blonde causing her shrieks of joy to fill the air. Evan quickly grabbed onto her and help her by the shoulders, trying to keep her warm.

"This does feel good. Maybe this night isn't completely ruined."

A smile was offered followed by a kiss from Kelly, which Evan truly enjoyed. Once the moment was over, "This night just got better and is only going to get even better than this – trust me."

* * *

She was just getting into the house when the clock read two in the morning. Moment upon entering the house, she had discovered AJ sleeping on the couch and Nathan sleeping on the other one peacefully. Her smiled glowed over them once she shut the lights. While passing by her daughter's bedroom, she discovered the young girl sleeping peacefully with her teddy bear tucked by her side. Gently, Torrie shut the door and returned to her bedroom for some rest.

That call she had received earlier that night really had gotten her all shook up. For a second, she honestly believed she heard John's voice on that phone. The signal was so bad that she couldn't make it out. Her heart wanted to believe that could be her but her head denied it. John was gone. He was gone and wasn't coming back. It's that fact that she couldn't fully let the whole thing go. She can't release John from her heart.

Torrie had to focus on everything right now. She has two beautiful children to take care of and raise, a steady job to keep and a wonderful man in her life to give her a hand with anything. Everything was perfect and this is how it was going to be. John wasn't going to come back and she knew it.

While in her bedroom, for some reason she just stumbled upon things she had kept about John. Letters he would send, copies of email he'd write, pictures and so many countless thing all hidden in one box in her closet. She blew the dust away and removed it from the closet. She leaned back onto her bed and glimpsed inside the package.

His dog tags were the first thing she pulled out. A glimpse at that and she was quickly reminded of his smile, dedication and humbleness. She pulled out a letter she had first written to him. It was right before Ella was born and he was somewhere in the world. This time, he didn't have a computer so they wrote to one another.

_Dear Torrie,_

_One month. Only one month separates you and I. My Family and I. My life and I. Since I've landed back here, all I can think about is that day I come back. The day I'll be able to sit on my porch at home and just be with you, Nathan and a new addition to the family which I can't wait for. Being a father is amazing and it kills me not being there with you and Nathan. I just saw the sonogram picture you sent me in the letter. It's a girl. I can't believe it. You always thought we were going to be stuck with all boys but no, we're getting a girl. I just hope you don't go into labor before I get home because we're going to have a problem then. I'm looking around me and all the guys here can't wait to just get home but I still think I'm the one who wants to go home the most. I keep your picture up right beside my bed. You know how I always sleeping on my left side. Well, I keep the picture on the left side of the lamp post so before I go to bed, I see you and right when I wake up, I see you. It's the closet I'll get to seeing you here. I put Nathan's there too. I hope this week they get that webcam working because I can maybe see you again, see how beautiful you've gotten and how much Nathan has grown. I'm glad we decided not to name him Oliver. You were right. Oliver sounds like he was born in 1862. I've got a name down for the girl if you're interested. I've always had something for the name Ella. It's just so nice and sweet and it would go great with Cena. I hope you consider it and not shoot it down immediately like you do my other ideas. Looks like their taking us somewhere. I'm going to go but remember, I'm only a month away and I will make it to that month. Please take care of Nathan and the baby. Don't get into any trouble. Stay safe and send my regards to my family. I'll see you really soon._

_Love,  
John_

His letters were always those kinds that could just lift your spirits and brighten her day. It was also a reminder about how she fell in love with him. A soft smile emerged across her lips after reading this and she stored it back into the box. She felt a creeking on the floors and quickly pushed the box beneath her bed and stood up from the floor to see AJ standing before her.

"I hope I didn't wake you or anything. You and Nathan were fast asleep on the couch so I tried my best to be extra quiet and not wake you guys," Torrie mentioned, "You can stay over. I've got some of John's clothes here if you're interested in them."

"If you've got a spare t-shirt, they'll be perfect," Torrie headed over to the drawers and pulled out a t-shirt for AJ. None of John's things had been moved or touched. It was like he really wasn't gone, "You've got a lot of John's thing in the room."

"Well, I just don't feel like touching anything. This is how it was when he left and it's going to stay like this."

"Really?" It worried him. The fact that Torrie is holding onto these things got him worried that she hasn't really let go of him and that she is still in love with him. They were now in a relationship and it was suppose to be about just them two, "You don't think it's time to take these things out and start the whole moving on process."

Nodding no was her response before she began to speak again, "I mean, I don't want to move it. I don't really want to change anything."

"Not the drawers? Maybe taking the Cena out of your name and going back to being Wilson? Put some pictures away? Torrie, I sometimes have the idea you're still in love with him and not trying with me. I feel like I'm just some toy and I don't want to be a toy. I want something real."

"You are real. You are special. Listen, it's just my way of honoring him and keeping his memory around for the sake of my children. Their father is someone they never got a chance to get to know and I want to give them to remember him in any remotely way possible. It's important to me and the children and has nothing to do with being in love with him."

AJ understood where the blonde was coming from and she was right. If he knew anything about Torrie, it was that he knew that she loved her children so much and that she would do anything for them. Just about anything.

"I know you want your children to be happy and to have a father so I was beginning to think of something," AJ Paused for a moment to recollect what he was going to say, "I look at these kids as if they were my own and I loved them so much. It got me thinking that maybe I could be a legally guardian to them, you know for certain purposes and things. I just want them to be safe and have that father figure they've been missing."

At first, she was stunned by the proposition and didn't know how else to come across with this situation. It was a good idea but was it too soon? Torrie only knew the man for about eight months and dating him for about two. Was it the right thing to do?

"I'd like that. I trust you and I know you'd take care of my kids," Torrie came even closer and smiled before giving AJ one kiss, "You make one hell of a father."

* * *

**A/N: **Chapter 14 is here! Hope everyone liked it. Please Review!  
Next chapter is going to be a big one - trust me ;) What could happen? Begin guessing ;)  
Vote on Poll and Please drop a review!


	15. On the Edge

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Ffiteen_ - On the Edge

Savannah Fong had just completed what would probably be the hardest day in her teenage life; coming into a completely new school. That Thursday evening, after an evening tour with another fellow student Natalya Neidhart, Savannah decided to take it upon herself to do a little more exploring of her new school. The fresh meat to the school was a very hard working student. Straight A's and determined. Her mentality would lie upon that if she worked hard, good things would come her way and it would all pay off.

Not only that but she wanted to make her parents really proud. The golden brown haired girl would stay away from late night parties and set her focus more on her projects for classes. As she placed some things away in her locker, Savannah could feel an odd presence around her. Maybe it was just the whole setting, with the sun beginning to set or just her mind playing tricks on her.

Quickly shaking her head away from it, Savannah shut her locker door and felt a sudden breeze past by her - but how did it happen if there was no window nearby to provide it? It was just an odd and strange feeling.

Trying to keep her mind it off, Savannah headed into the nearby bathroom. After touching so many different things, her being a total germaphobic and all, if she didn't cleanse herself of the garbage around her, she'd feel so disgusted.

As she prepared to wash her hands, she felt something move behind her. Savannah turned her head around and saw nothing but just the toilet stalls behind her. Nothing. No sort of life in here.

She focused back her attention to the sink as she administered some soap onto her hands and began to rub them clean. Slowly she took her hands and placed them under the faucet and gently rubbed them soap free.

Her hand reached for the stack of paper towels by her side and took a few into her hands. Popping her head back up, she quickly jumped at the sight of what was in the mirror. Savannah turned around and gasped, "This is the girls room. What are you do here?"

The individual had a mask on. A dark mask only revealing the one's dark eyes. Dressed in black from head to toe, the person wasn't there just to observe.

"Get out of -"

And she was stopped in her tracks when the person took their hand and immediately grasped her by her neck, cutting off any air supply for the new student. Savannah struggled to do something like trying to break the masked individual's grip but it was too strong.

"Help!" Shouted the young student, trying to notify anybody of what was happening to her but who would be around at this hour. All hope was gone but she didn't stop trying, "Somebody please!"

The figure struck Savannah with their hand and immediately tossed her in a nearby stall, where the masked figure would finish the job that they had came here for.

* * *

The next day, Eve was in the lunchroom just enjoying the oiled up and overly salted French fries, she loved by the way, along with a bottle of water. Her trip to Miami was fantastic and she enjoyed just every moment of it. Now, It was back to reality and she'd been back for a few weeks already but it didn't hit her that she was back. Her body was here but her mind was laying on the beach somewhere in Miami.

Tugging a strand of her brown hair, the Latina's eyes focused onto a figure coming her way - looking extremely familiar. A smile curved onto her lips at the mere glimpse of the young man making her way to him, "I was wondering when you were going to pop up."

"Styles had me listen to some lecture about how we must get involved in the community," Cody stopped speaking as he laid a kiss on her lips while grabbing some fries out of Eve's plate, "Fries again? I'll take it, I guess."

"Hey!" As he tossed in the fries, one was still hanging off the tips of his lip. Eve took that one out and tossed it in her mouth, "Don't just come over here I steal my fries. Get your own?"

"What are we - ten?" As the football munched down on the fries, he could notice the bitter taste of salt on his tongue and in response, he cringed, "Eve, could you put anymore salt then this? I feel like I'm practically eating from a container of salt. Cut down on it, will ya."

"I like salt. I'll make them even more saltier next time and you won't steal them from me."

"You're arteries probably hate you," Cody referred to the health concept behind his girlfriend's option to overdose on the salt she puts on her fries, "Think about them."

As he finished his sentence up, the pair was quick to notice the school's televisions turning. The purpose of the televisions were provide the students and faculty members of any news going on in the school. What was different about this one is that a news report is never shown in the middle of the day, only in the first class of the day. What was so special to announce today?

A feed of Evan came up on the flat screen televisions all around the lunchroom as students stared intently at the screen. As the president of the West Beverly Channel, Evan was the top reporter and was responsible for providing and producing the school's daily televised announcements. This time, he was reporting a set of breaking news for the his fellow students.

"Good Afternoon everyone. Welcome to a special edition of the West Beverly Channel. Evan Bourne reporting her with some unfortunate news to report to you all," Evan glanced down on his script with all the words prepared, "Last night, one of our students was attacked and robbed last night, right in school."  
The amount of gasps heard in the room was monumental. A pin could be heard in the midst of all the silence and every student was staring at the screen. Stopping whatever is it that they were doing.

"A junior, Savannah Fong was attacked last night, somewhere between the hours of 7pm and 8pm. It is believed that an unidentified individual entered the building and followed the new student into the bathroom where she was violently attacked. We're happy to report that Savannah is doing good and is receiving treatment at Beverly Hills Medical where she is expected to make a full recovery."

That one place where you feel like you're safe, you're not. Eve always believed that if there's a place she feel safe in, it's right here but now, her mind was changing. Danger lingered everywhere.

"Authorities believe that the attacker may be a student at West Beverly or a someone who just entered the school without passing through security. The school and Police are overlooking a group of surveillance tapes to come across any leads in this case to finding the culprit who committed the crime. Principal McMahon and the faculty encourages that all students be on the look out, do not travel alone and to be careful as the attacker is still at large. We'll have more information as the story develops so stay tuned into the WBC for more information on the story as more details are collected."

And the TV's went down as the students began to discuss the recent discovery that there could be somebody amongst them that was out to hurt others. Let the speculation begin.

Eve's eyes traveled back down to the table before her after hearing the news of this recent attack. Fear was stricken down inside of her. Possibly one of her own fellow students could be a criminal inflicting pain on other students. The one place where she thought she was safe and where no one could hurt her was now a place where she felt insecure. With this mystery man or woman on the loose, she had to keep her eyes open and pealed for anything suspicious.

The fear in the Latina's eyes and Cody was the first to notice it right away. His hand crawled over hers just to provide some reassurance for the young girl, "Try not to think about it alright. It's going to be fine."

"I'm just a bit freaked out a bit -"

And that's when another hand crept over, this time over her shoulder causing her to jump out of her seat and yelping in response. Her heart started to beat abnormally as she was frighten and what would frighten her even more would be the sight she'd see behind her - perhaps even more frightening than the attackers himself.

"Gotcha Eve!" In response to the scare, he cluttered up into laughter as he was treated to two glares. One from Eve, the other from his not so best friend - Cody.

"Not funny Miz," Cody answered in a stern and angry like tone, "Get out of here. We don't want you here."

He smirked, "I think Eve wants me here - don't you Eve?" His eyes traveled up and down her beautiful body, checking out every cure of her body and simply loving the sight, "You are looking extra delicious today."

That's when Cody stood up and faced up to the man, "She isn't a piece of meat. She's my girlfriend and if you say one more word, I'll give you a taste of my fist. You hear me Miz?"

Miz's response was a grinned, followed by a soft chuckle. He tossed his hands up, as if he had given up and slowly backed away, "Just because I don't want to show Eve that I could mop her boyfriend off this floor, I'm going to back up," In a joking matter, he waved in a femine wave, "Ciao."

Miz exited the lunchroom and Cody took a seat back next to Eve, "Don't listen to that jerk. He's nothing but bad news and if he bothers you again. Just tell me."

"Cody - I don't want you too to fight over something stupid. Please don't do anything. Let the Miz be the way he is and don't let him get into you're mind."

For the sake of Eve, he promised he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize anything. With a quick kiss, he sealed the promise to Eve.

* * *

Later that evening, Rosa Mendes had a whole house to herself. Mr. and Mrs. Mendes took a vacation off to Cancun and she had the whole house to herself. It's good to be a lonely child. But she wasn't going to be that lonely that night. The house was already filled up with countless amount of students from West Beverly in her Beverly Hills mansion.

The music was loud as it was blasting some of 30H!3's My first Kiss through the giant speakers that she had rented. In one corner, an intense game of beer bong was going on while in another, Jack Swagger was taking down beer in a funnel and a mixture of couples exchanging salvia in one corner along with a girl puking. Yeah, it sounded just like another high school party.

Making their way through the large crowd, Evan and Kelly were like two little lost souls. Neither one would really be caught dead in one of these parties but today, with some begging from Eve, the pair decided to have some fun and head to the party.

And right when they made their entrance, Kelly witnessed a raven haired girl puking into a nearby garbage can. Being the Kelly she is, what would she be without saying a little comment about the situation, "I think I see what Eve meant by the whole missing out on all this fun. It looks like a blast."

Evan caught a glimpse and cringed at the sight of what was coming out of her mouth, "I think it was more than the alcohol that got to her. I see today's tacos coming out of there too."

"That fact that you could identify a girl's lunch from her vomit amazes me. It's that thing about you that just got me hooked," Joked the blonde as she dragged Evan away from the disgusting mess and lead him into the backyard where more chaos was erupting - even a topless teenager being chased my one of the fellow students in only his red boxers. And when you thought you'd see everything - guess again.

"I always knew hers were fake. Those things barely moved. Heck, the room moved more than her boobs," Kelly smirked right before she proposed a question, "Evan, remind me again why we decided to show up?"

"Eve forced us to show."

"Now remind me to murder her later."

"Kel, let's give this whole thing a chance. We can have fun you know - like.." He twisted his head around and found a cooler of beers. He quickly grabbed it and opened it up as the foam splattered around his hand, "Like, I'll have a drink."

"Evan, I don't -"

And it was too late as the free bird, Evan Bourne, started to chug the beer down right in front of Kelly, who had a smile on her face. It was a corky and thrilling side of Evan she just loved about him. As he quickly brought the can down, he crushed it and tossed it on the ground and remained still.

"Everything okay?"

"That felt," He took a moment to paused before he blared out, very loudly, "Amazing!" And he caught the attention of the other students around him as well. Awkward stares emerged and Evan's cheek turned a raspberry red but not from embarrassment but from that one beer.

People returned to their business and Kelly smiled up at Evan, "So, did you get your thrill out of this whole thing?"

"It felt great. You should have one!"

"No - I'm not a beer girl," Kelly pushed back the offer and her eyes widen once she noticed Evan beginning to strip off his shirt and tossed it on the ground along with his sneakers and socks, "I didn't know this turned into an Armani fashion show. Why'd you take your shirt off?"

"So I can do this."

Evan quickly ran up on to the diving board and hit a cannon ball straight into the crystal blue water and when he resurfaced, he faced Kelly, "You should come on in. The waters great and I'm feeling a bit lonely being in here all alone. Jump in."

"You know," Enough was enough. She was going to have fun and if throwing herself into the pool was the wave to do it then so be it - she'll do it. The blonde removed the high heels off her feet and tossed them onto the ground as she made a run for it and dove straight into the pool. When she resurfaced, she pushed back her hair and took a deep breath.

"So, how do you feel?"

Her answer. A high pitch 'woooo' that rang through the ears of the countless bodies around her, creating the center of attention to be her. As the weird stares continued, Kelly rolled her eyes and smiled, "Come on - are you guys going to make this a real party or what? Jump in."

And with that, bodies started to flow into the water. Some decided to remove some clothing while others just didn't care and tossed themselves inside. The pool started to fill up so Kelly quickly swam over to Evan in the center and wrapped her arms and legs around his body, "I don't want to loose you in this pool before anyone else decides to come in."

"So I guess you're having fun?"

"I think that now I'm glad that we decided to come tonight. It didn't turned out to be a total snooze fest like I originally thought," She came her with a different mindset and mentality and was pleased that she was proved wrong in this case. It was one of those thins that Evan just brought out of her, "Thanks for coming too."

"You think I'd leave you here all by yourself. Who were you going to tell all your comments too? Rosa? Maryse?"

In response, Kelly blew some water into his face as he cringed at the water slipping into his eyes, "Eh!" He mumbled out before she just planted a kiss on his lips and that's when he said in response, "That's more like it."

* * *

The invitation wasn't extended to her. More like it was extended to someone she knew and she eventually heard about it. So what if Rosa hated her at this point? She didn't think that she would hate her to the point that she wouldn't let her into her party. Rosa was different and something in the back of Maryse's mind was just telling her to go for it and that it wouldn't hurt trying.

As she made her way to the front steps, she quickly walked up the short stairs and could see everyone drinking and dancing. All she wanted was to join in on the fun and maybe hook up with a guy since she hadn't really gotten anything in a while. But just was she was going to step into the room, Rosa popped up with a stern smile on her face.

"Can I help you Maryse?" It was said in the most careless and fakest tone. Clearly, Maryse and Rosa's pass hasn't cleared up at all and their - well, Rosa's grudge was still in place, "I remember sending invites to a lot of kids but I put in the text that bitches weren't aloud - so I'm going to have to escort you off the property Maryse. Thanks for coming though."

"Wait up," Maryse's finger jolted up into Rosa's face as she started to explain herself, "Can't you just let go of the whole thing that happened a few months ago. It's done and over with so can't we just be cool with each other. We don't have to be friends but just as long as I feel like you don't hate me."

"You know, that seems reasonably," Her hopes were taken up but it was only minutes to crash down onto the ground, "But, no. I'll pass on being cool with you. See you later Maryse."

Boom was how the door went, right into the blonde's face. The music got even louder as Maryse started to walk away from the house. She had never been rejected like this in her life. No one ever treated her this way and it hurt her. She wasn't who she was anymore - well to people.

Girls would fear Maryse. The French Canadian beauty was basically a bitch. She'd run the school and now, that power was taken away from her and she couldn't believe that the chair she'd be sitting in with her crown was now all gone. Now, she was all by herself. Maryse against the world - in a pretty lonely world.

What had to be the worst thing about this whole thing was that she was now all alone on a Friday night. Never in her life was she alone like this since the days she was wearing a diaper and now, it was a late Friday night and here she was - all alone.

She certainly wouldn't be alone for long. What she would be coming across would give her a whole new idea of what she could be doing on Friday nights. The mysterious and sexy Ted DiBaise was leaning against his motorcycle, parking right outside of Rosa's home. Maryse smirked at the taller man, "You came to the party and tried to get in?"

"Oh no - I got in."

"Oh so did I," Lied Maryse, not wanting to seem like a pathetic loser who might be the only person in West Beverly not to be allowed into the party. She had to keep it cool, "It was so lame. Nothing but trash around there so that's what I decided I could do better on a Saturday night."

"You when in? How come I saw you talking to Rosa before? She looked like she was kicking you out of something," And he caught her right in the fib.

All she could do was smile and change the subject, "Well, enough about that. Where are you heading off to now? Any wild parties better than this?"

"I can think of a lot of places better than this. I'm heading down to the Santa Monica pier to take care of some business," In a very rare occasion, he was going to do something he very rarely does. It was to extend and invitation that he normally would never really extend to just anybody but he felt bad for Maryse, "How about you come with me?"

What really surprised her was the fact that Ted, a guy who finds it hard to open up, would extend an invite to her like this. It was a flattering - to be perfectly honest, "I think I'd love to join you tonight."

He took the spare helmet and tossed it into her arms, "You can use that."

"You don't got one in pink? Or maybe with some rhinestones on it?"

The look Ted gave Maryse was completely priceless. How else was he suppose to respond with nothing but his eyes lowering down and squinting at her? "Yeah sure, let me just pull it out of my huge Coach bag along with some of my makeup and jewelry. Then afterwards, we can go to get our nails done and talk about guys."

"Really?"

"No."

"Aw," Maryse placed the helmet on and hoped that she wouldn't ruin her hair or anything followed by Ted. In that moment, she placed her arms around his waist and held it very tightly. Maryse rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. Never before had she felt so attracted to him then this very moment. Something about this whole set up just sprung out onto her. It was a moment in time she wished would never end.

Ted released the motorcycle from the breaks and started to prep up the engine. He stood their one more time and said, "Get ready for the ride," And he started on the gas and he, along with Maryse swatted their way down the street, preparing for an unforgettable night.

* * *

She wouldn't describe this party as mind blowing - but it was a good way to get her mind off of some things. With all that was happening in her life - Miz bothering her and this attacker on the loose - Eve was a bit on the edge. A party was just what she needed to get her mind off of things that seemed to be bothering the young student.

And just when she thought she was having a good time, someone had to come and ruin it. There he was, making his way to her like the little creep he is, slithering his way over to her. Chills ran up and down her body and they weren't good ones. His arrogant smirk would just upset her just like that. What was even worst was Cody wasn't there to help. She was all along.

"Eve," As he usually does, Miz licked his lips scanning her body up and down as if she was a piece of meat, "You did not have to get all good looking for me. I'd take you anyway you were."

"Just go - please," Kindly, she begged the man to leave but he just stood there, with that smirk wiped across his face, "Miz, just leave me alone. Is it that hard?"

"You see, I can't do that," He stepped forward, getting closer and closer to Eve - eventually backing her into a corner, "Eve, all I want you to do is admit that you want some of this. Admit that Cody is the biggest wimp in this school. I can see it in your eyes that you want nothing to do with him and what you really want is a real man. You really want me."

"Never. You're a pig. Your nothing but a disgusting perverted pig and I will never admit such a lie. Now, if you excuse me," And as she tried to push him away and walk away, he only yanked her back into her spot with his hand, extremely forcefully, "Miz, let me go. Don't touch me."

"No, we're not finished," He abruptly yelled at the brunette while tugging on her forearm. Fear had risen over her and it just reminded her about the creep that is going around school. Eve shut her eyes tightly waiting for this ordeal to be over until she felt his release. Her eyes opened up and she saw Miz being pulled away and tossed to the ground with a single punch to his jaw and he went down like a pile of bricks.

"Cody!"

Following her cry of joy, Cody threw himself onto the Miz and started to viciously beat him with his first. Strike after strike, the Miz's nose began to crack up and bleed. All of Cody's fury was being unleashed. The last straw was whatever he was about to do to Eve. Cody made a promise - and he was keeping it.

The crowd of students began to surround the pair as they were tearing one another apart. Kelly and Evan was quick to approach the scene and quickly came to Eve's side. Evan jumped in and pulled off the rabbing Cody off the Miz and held his arms back, "Come on man," Evan would tell him as he tried to pull him off the man.

Successfully Evan got him off and Cody was like a rabbed wolverine - like some sort of animal and it was a side Eve was a bit frighten by. She wasn't going to lie. The Miz took his hand and noticed his nose was bleeding. He stood up and quickly ran off as some students laughed it off and others looked really concerned.

Eve couldn't be here any longer so she decided to just run off. She left the room and headed up the stairs. As she was walking around, Eve could only think of the images of Cody being so violent. She didn't like it and it worried her a lot. He didn't need to do that. This situation could have been handled in a much different way.

It was dark and empty upstairs. All that you could hear was the loud music and a bunch of students just talking away - probably about what just happened. There will be much more about it on Monday.

Eve went into one of the bedrooms, which happened to be Rosa's room. Typical girls room. Pink walls, sheets, pillows, chairs and basically everything else. I guess she likes pink. Eve went over to her mirror and wiped off her face of some tears and sweat. Suddenly, she heard a crash in the bedroom. She twisted her body around and saw some of Rosa's things fall onto the ground.

Eve turned her attention to the window where she could see the crowds of students, drinking their lives away but still having a good time. When she turned around, Eve jumped at the sight. A hooded figure stood before her. Fear went through her veins as she saw the man raise his hand.

Eve took another gasp of air before his hand struck her down and she fell to the ground like a ton of bricks. Eve's eyes took a few more glimpses but then that was it. She KO'ed. He had strike again and this time it was Eve that was the stranger's target.

* * *

When you have two children, it's hard to really go out on a Friday night. But she had company, luckily. AJ had spent the evening with her, watching a movie and helped put the kids to sleep. To say the least, she was lucky to have him. He was great when it came to helping her out. The kids loved him and more importantly, so did she.

AJ was about to leave so Torrie was escorting him to the door. The blonde opened the door and stared out into the night sky. It was clear night. Torrie wrapped her arms around, feeling a cool breeze getting inside. She looked up at AJ and smiled, "You sure you don't want to stay over? It's kind of late."

"You know I'd love too but I got to wake up early tomorrow since I'm heading to San Diego for that teacher's conference. I can do it next weekend - the entire weekend in fact," He leaned in and kissed her soft lips, "I'll give you a call tomorrow night."

Torrie smiled as he walked away to his car, "Get home safe," He nodded in response as he got into his car and pulled out of her driveway and drove off into the night.

With AJ gone and the kids sleeping, it was the perfect time to just to relax. Torrie marched off over to the living room and took a seat there. Thoughts fluttered her mind about AJ.

Where was there relationship going? It had been about three months already and going really strong. He was a reliable man. A trustworthy and humble man. He cared so much about other before himself. It was all Torrie ever really wanted in a man. But the thing about this whole thing was that there was still another guy in her heart - one she thought she had forgotten was still present.

_At the Bridal party's table, Torrie was sitting down on the chair watching the crowd of people dancing to some smooth swing music. There was a reason she wasn't dancing. It was on doctor's orders that a six month pregnant woman refrains from any sort of activity like that. Yes, she and John were expecting and the baby was due in the end of November. She didn't know how she got pregnant but it happened and she couldn't be happier. Plus, that wasn't the only new thing she was carrying. Taking a closer look at her finger, a gold ring was wrapped around it. She was married too – John popped the question and the two had a ravish wedding in July. It wasn't too big and was quickly planned but the two were satisfied. It's weird how so much could change in just four months. Two of the biggest things were happening to her – having a baby and getting married was pretty huge._

_Now that she was married – It was Trish and Chris's turn. Torrie took her orange juice and sipped on it. Obviously, no alcohol was available for the blonde. When you're pregnant – it isn't quiet aloud. Coming out of the dance floor, John found his beautiful wife sitting down on the chair, looking rather unhappy and bored._

_He walked over to her and took a seat next to her, "Good Party right?"_

_"Yeah – I guess," the mumbled words came from the blonde's lips, "I can't do anything. I can't have any alcohol, I can't dance to this fast pacing songs and I can't stand up for too long. Being pregnant isn't my cup of tea."_

_"Well, in a few months you'll be happy that you were pregnant," John told her, "We're going to have a boy and when you first seem him – you'll know it was all worth it. All of it will be worth it in the end so you've got nothing but nice things to look forward to Tor."_

_"I can't even enjoy myself here," Torrie looked around and noticed how everyone was so happy – dancing the night away, "I want to dance."_

_John looked at her for a moment and raised her up as a slow tuned song came through the speakers, "We can dance to this – it's nice and slow and the baby bump won't keep us to far apart."_

_"Okay but let's not step on my toes this time."_

_John guided the blonde straight to the dance floor where other couples including the newlyweds and parts of the bridal party were dancing. The soft low beat of the music was perfect and quiet soothing as a matter of fact. Torrie rested her arms on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her waist._

_"See I told you. Who said you couldn't dance?"_

_"Well, this is fine. It's slow and quiet and doesn't require me to spin around or doing something like the Macarena," She scanned the dance floor to see the happily married couple dancing together, "I'm just so happy for them – they had such a rollercoaster year and it now finally looks like they are happy and content with everything."_

_"Are you happy?"_

_"With what?"_

_"Us. Our baby – you leaving your dream job to come and be with me," John looked into the green eyes, "Because sometimes I feel like you aren't happy."_

_"John," She smiled, "I am happy. The Best choice I made was stepping off the plane and coming back to you, marrying you was the best choice and having this baby with you was the best choice I made. If I don't seem happy sometimes, it's more because of my pregnancy but John, I'm happy. We're going to have a baby in a few months and going to start our Family. I want nothing more than that."_

_He nodded in response, "And I'm happy too. I'll be even happier once we get little Oliver out of you."_

_"You mean little Nathan," Torrie said back in defense, "I thought you were agreeing to my choice of Nathan. What's so special about Oliver?"_

_"I don't know – it just sounds good and it goes could with Cena. Oliver Cena."_

_"Oh please," Torrie said in disgust, "Am I giving birth to some boy in the middle of the 18th century? I think not."_

_"We'll have to see about that," John planned, "Maybe when you turn around – I'll switch the name around and put it to Oliver."_

_"You do that – don't even think of coming home."_

_"I wouldn't do that," John said, "I was just joking – take a joke Torrie."_

It was memories like those that were flooding her mind. Just him - AJ seemed to be just being erased out of her mind at the moment and she didn't know why. She knew he was gone but something kept telling her to just believe. Her mind suddenly snapped out of her trance when their was suddenly a knock on the door.

Who could this be at this hour? Torrie collectively put herself together and headed over to the door. A part of her thought maybe she should have token her pepper spray with her, just in case this person isn't someone she knows.

What she didn't know was there was a huge surprise waiting behind the door.

Her eyes couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was him - he was standing right there in front of him, seeing him with her own two green eyes. John was back.

Missing in Action no more; John was standing right before her in a military clothing and smiling at his beautiful wife. Torrie was had overcame with emotion and couldn't control her constant breathing and the shock was still going through him. Torrie took her hands and touched his cheeks, not believing that this could actually be him, "Is that really you?"

He smiled, "I think I'll prove it to you that I am real and that this is me," And that's when he took his lips and crashed it against hers. It was a feeling that she hadn't received in such a long time and something she hadn't had in such a long time. To feel a kiss from him was something she always hoped for. To be back into his arms was the greatest feeling in the word.

Her true love was finally home and this moment couldn't have been anymore perfect than it is right now. One thing she definitely knew was that True loves always prevails.

* * *

**A/N: **Chapter 15 is here! Hope everyone liked it. Please Review!  
And that's what the big thing was! I think a lot of you saw that :)  
NEW POLL UP! it's about this story so please vote!  
A new TED/MARYSE story is up too. I'm falling in love with that couple by each day so if you like them here, check it out. It's called You Lost me.  
Thanks for reading and please leave a review!


	16. Rocky Roads

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Sixteen_ - Rocky Roads

Never had he kept her worried this much. Her fingers were inching closer to calling 911 to alert the police of a possible missing persons. Call after Call, he never answered as the hand on the clock inched closer to the one o'clock. Fear had overcome herself and her heart was beating like crazy - but not in a good way.

Stacy Orton was on the edge of her seat that late Friday night. Both Emily and Connor were out cold and Stacy was far from being asleep in her bed. Her husband had been gone all day. From work, he went straight out. She had not the slightest idea but fear grew inside her that he was with Dawn.

He'd say a lot of things to get himself out of situations and lie to her but she thought maybe she could still trust him. Randy hadn't even had the courage to send some sort of text message or anything just so she doesn't have to worry but he wasn't doing that. For all she knew, he could be dead or could be lying I on a bed, right by the side of Dawn Marie. Stacy quickly shook her head of images of the two having intercourse and still believed that Randy hadn't done anything like that.

Alone in her living room, she glimpsed at the photographs of Randy and herself at much more happier times. Their wedding day, a day he almost didn't showed up for. Their honeymoon in Mexico and the day the twins were born. Most recently, she hadn't any really good times. Their best times were when both were silent and didn't say anything. It was the most recent time she had with him that was actually good.

What was wrong with their relationship? What was she doing wrong in this case? Stacy thought back to some recent events and could only think that this whole expanding their family could have been the root of this situation. She wasn't sure. It could have been Dawn, who's putting something into his mind and just destroying their relationship. There were countless possibilities - but no clear cut answer.

Their merely perfect marriage was at the brinks of collapsing into pieces and no sight of any relief or the chance of actually fixing this. It was as if he was giving up and she would soon follow but she didn't want her heart to just give up like this. She loves him. This man was her husband and heck, they would have to work to keep this whole thing going and not give up. He may have - but she would not.

And just when she thought he wasn't coming back or that he had been killed, Randy's car pulled into the driveway with the lights flashing into the living room. Finally, he was getting home and the worrying would stop momentarily.

Rising to her feet, Stacy took a firm spot right in front of the door waiting for him to get inside. The car alarm was placed in the on position and Stacy could hear his footsteps heading to the door. The knob turned and opened came the door with Randy - with a smile plastered on.

But once he laid eyes onto Randy, his smile went away. Why was he smiling? He never smiled like that at me before.

"It's the middle of the night and you're hear smiling like nothing's wrong. Where the hell have you been?" Screeched the blonde with her hand waving at him in fury, "I've been worrying nonstop about you."

"I was out - I went out with AJ for some beers after work. Not a big deal," Randy tossed down his duffle bag and shut the door. He answer was way to stern and straight forward, "Where do you think I've been?"

Sometimes you just have to be a little smarter and well, in this case, Stacy knew a little more than Randy right now, "That's interesting, seeing as how I called Torrie a few hours ago and she described how she and AJ spent the entire day together and no mention of you're name in there."

He caught her. His lie wouldn't go any further than this but it was time to face it.

"Randy, where were you really?" Randy stood their with a stern look on his face. Any answer she wanted to hear. Just anything to come out of his lips but she wasn't getting anything, so she decided to bring it out of him than just let him tell her, "I bet you were with Dawn or something."

He was quick to shoot down the idea with his response, "I didn't go see her," The way it sounded, it was more as if he was surprised, "I don't even see her anywhere but work. What must you assume that it's her? Maybe I went to go hang out with some other guys."

He couldn't just come out with the truth and it was killing her that he would still stand their and just lie. She was going to get the truth out of him one way or another and if having to rip it out of his throat, she'd do it.

"Or maybe you Dawn texted so you guys could maybe go to that new Thai place. I heard they have some great noodles and wine. Did you head over there?" She recited that text message she had read not to long ago, hoping that Randy would get it.

For that moment, he felt miserable thinking that Stacy thinks that he'd be cheating on her with Dawn but than fury emerged thinking that she had went through her way to things he holds private. His fist crunched up and he got even closer to Stacy.

"Why'd you look through my phone? Why'd you do it Stace?"

"I should be asking you the same question," Stacy gritted her teeth together, "And one I loved to hear was how you canceled lunch on me to spend time with her. Your own wife over someone you barely know."

"You can't say that. You don't know her."

The feeling being received to Stacy was that she was no longer felt like his wife. She felt like one of those girls he'd date in high school - take one and move on to the next and it was like she was just one of the roadblocks in this whole thing and that soon she'd be kicked to the curb along with the others.

Stacy looked down onto the ground. The blonde took the moment to just recollect herself without breaking down right then and there, "How can you just defend her like that? Meanwhile, you're treating me like I'm a piece of garbage. That I have no use. You've changed - We've changed and Randy, I don't know why."

"No," Randy mumbled, "We haven't changed and I haven't changed. We are still the same people we've been since we've met. Nothing's changed - it's just been tough."

Nodding in denial, Stacy crossed her arms and looked into his eyes. Even the look in his eyes were have changed, "Randy, I'm not going to sit around and hope that this thing just heals over or this whole ordeal is just a phase because it's not. Randy, we have a problem and it's seriously a big one. You going out with Dawn and all, Randy - do you know what you're putting me through? You're making me think the worst, that you're committing the ultimate betrayal," She took a moment to breath before saying it, "Cheating - you're making me think that you're cheating on me with her."

Right when she said that, he jumped up and realized that he didn't want Stacy to believe that, "Stacy, I'm not cheating. I would never do that to you. I couldn't. You're my wife, the love of my life and the most beautiful woman in the world. I would never throw that away like that. Stace, I love you too much to do that to you."

The lost blonde tried to control herself from just busting out in tears and she quickly looked up at him, "Just be a husband. Be a father. Be the Randy I knew. Don't be this new Randy. I want this to work out and just get pass this."

"We will - I promise."

Randy pulled Stacy into a hug, wrapped his arms around her body and kissing her forehead. This had to be it. If this whole thing doesn't work out, what else is she going to do? She refuses to live a life that isn't good. She wants to live a normal life with her husband and kids and just no Dawn Maria - or creatures like this. For one, she hoped that he would keep this promise unlike ones from before.

* * *

Minutes after his confrontation with the Miz, Cody was left alone. His Latina girlfriend had run off somewhere and couldn't find her. With some help from friends, Kelly and Evan, they scattered around the house to find Eve.

He honestly felt bad - not for Miz but for Eve. Eve was never the one to really like violence and Cody used it today but in order to protect Eve. He had vowed that she was not going to let anyone hurt her, especially Miz and he that's what he did. The Miz was a jerk and a selfish loser only looking out for himself. For all he cared, he got everything he deserved but still needed a little more.

Through the crowds of people, they couldn't see anything. They asked some people if they had seen her but they either couldn't comprehend the words out due to intoxication or were to busy sticking their tongues down one another's throat. You could always count on West Beverly Kids to help you out on anything these days.

Evan and Kelly were still checking the first floor and Cody made the decision to head upstairs. If she wanted to get away from something, she'd go somewhere peaceful and quiet. It was extremely dark upstairs and it seemed as if no one was in her. In one room, some moans could be heard. Cody looked at the door as the noise got louder and sounder much more sexual than anything. Hm, they must be reading the bible together.

There were plenty of rooms in the Mendes home. He could spend all night searching for her in this house and he already was kind of doing that. He had came across the first room which happens to Rosa's room. As he reached for the knob and was about to pull it, a sudden shriek allured with his name, "Cody!"

Like any individual would do, you look over to who is calling your name. In Cody's situation, it was the Party's host calling his name, "What is it Rosa?"

"You're about to go into my room," Demanded the sparkly Latina, "No one is even suppose to be up here anyway. The party is downstairs and only downstairs."

"You should ask the people behind door number one so they can take their party downstairs," Smirked the raven haired boy as Rosa looked at the door hearing the noises, "I'm just up here looking for Eve. I can't find her and I think she may be up here since she's upset.

Rosa happily smirked, "Cody, I know you're not looking for Eve and the reason you're going into my room is because you want me to spice," And with that, she shook her chest in an odd way, "your life up."

Is she hitting on me? Cody didn't have the time nor the patience to deal with Rosa's attempts to have sex with him. He really wasn't interested in her. All he was interested in was finding Eve and making sure she is okay.

"Tempting off Rosa but I'm going to have to pass on it."

"Are you sure Cody? This is your one time chance to get a piece of Rosa Mendes," She hadn't given up on her task and actually hoped to have something to talk about on Monday, "I see how you would look at me when you were with that idiot Maryse. I know you wanted me and you chance is here," Rosa came closer and Cody became even more turned off by Rosa's attempts.

"No thank you or do I need to say it in Spanish. No gracias Rosa," Taken a bit back by his Spanish, Rosa paused as Cody turned back to the door, "I'm just going to see if Eve's in here - that's all."

Pouting was her way of responding. Cody turned the door knob and opened up the room. He switched on the light and called out, "Eve!" as he began to scout the room was the young individual and what he would find would definitely horrify him.

The discovery had come with a gasp. A wounded Eve laid on the floor of Rosa's room with a cut on her head with her hands dangling on the side. She looked completely lifeless. Cody rushed to her side, lifting up her head as he hoped to get some sort of response to Eve. With his finger tips, he felt up her neck and was pleased to feel her pulse going. It was a sigh of relief but had yet to be out of the blue.

"Eve, come baby - you need to wake up. Do it for me," Cody called out to her but didn't get a response.

Rosa didn't have anything to say but only something Rosa would say when she saw her lamp was broken on the floor, "Oh my god, my lamp. She broke it. That klutz broke it."

It didn't take rocket science to figure out that Rosa was a complete idiot and self centered but he was surprised she'd say that in a situation like this, "Rosa, call 911! We need to get Eve to a hospital."

"No! I can't do that," Rosa was just being Rosa, "The cops will show up and bust the party and I'll get into serious trouble. I can't call them."

"An innocent girl is hurt and you're choosing not to call 911? What the hell is wrong with you Rosa?"

"My Parents would find out about it and They'd kill me after this and won't trust me."

That's Rosa. Only caring about herself in these situations. Cody flipped up his cell phone and placed his fingers in the dial pad, "Tough! You have two minutes to get everyone out of here because I'm calling an ambulance.

Rosa fluttered out of the room, failing around and panicking like a complete moron and she quickly rushed down the stairs to alert the party goers of what is about to happen.

In Rosa's room. Found Eve and She's hurt. Come up. Cody shot a text over to Evan hoping Kelly and himself would soon head up here.

After that was done, Cody began to call for 911. As the phone rang, all he thought about was Eve and hoping that she would be okay after this whole thing and whoever did this too her would pay, "I need an ambulance. My friend's been hurt and I need help. The address is 121 North Beverly Drive. Please hurry."

As he hung up the phone, Kelly and Evan came in right in time. Both were extremely concerned for the brunette as she laid in Cody's arms, "Please tell me she is okay and not dead. Any cuts or anything?" Kelly asked.

"She has a pulse. There's a cut on her head and the lamp was broken so I think someone maybe just hit her in the head with it."

"Wait, you think someone did this?" Asked Evan, who seemed puzzled because he couldn't think of anyone that could possibly hurt a girl as sweet as Eve, "Who would even want to hurt Eve?"

And that was a question that Cody was dying to answer at the moment. He obviously didn't have an idea until then, when he began to think about it. Only one person entered his mind.

* * *

With the sound of planes roaring over them, Maryse knew she wasn't too far away from Los Angeles International, also known as LAX. Heading over sixty miles per hour on the bike, she had not the slightest idea of where exactly she was going today. She just know it was with Ted and that's all she cared about.

Ted was soon slowing down and pulling up around some old warehouses. It was empty and scary. The whole mood of the location and the fact that it was almost three in the morning certainly didn't help.

Ted turned the headlight off of the motorcycle and slipped his off. Maryse followed and soon got off the bike and was beginning to wonder what was going on and what Ted had planned for the evening. Due to helmet hair, Maryse quickly fixed up her hair and made it neat and fancy as it was before.

"We're here."

Ted presented the area and Maryse stepped forward, "I know were here but what exactly is here. All I see is some empty warehouses, which are freaking me out," Her eyes gazed at the rat that was crossing them. She quickly jumped, holding Ted's hand and shrieked, "Oh my god, Rat!"

The larger individual decided to laugh it off as Maryse shrieked and soon released her hold over his hand, "Don't worry - we're not going to stay here. We're going inside."

It just didn't make any sense. Why'd he bring her here unless he had some other intentions with her? "Where are we going to go? This place is more empty than your head since you brought me here."

"I just offered for you to come. You didn't need too," Ted placed a grip back on her hand. Instantly, she smiled, "Do you mind?"

Maryse smiled happily, "Not at all."

"Well, we'll be going where we need to go now if that's okay with you. It's not scary nor has rats," He notified her while guiding her with his hand to one of the empty warehouses.

As strong and brave she portrays herself to be, she was definitely nervous. This place just gave her the creeps and it was somewhere she would never be caught dead in. The warehouse, on the inside, was run down. Totally destroy walls, a horrible paint jobs and an odd smell. I feel like i am in a horror movie and the killer is going to just pop out and kill me. Wait - what if Ted's the killer? No, he's too hot.

They were getting closer to a red door. Loud music could be heard blasting in the room along with the voices of what sounded like hundreds of people. And what direction were they going in? That direction.

"When do you planning on telling me where the hell we are going?" In a much more scared but dominant tone, she explained her fear upon entering, "Can't you just tell me."

Not even consoling a word of what Maryse said, he pulled her passed the red door and into the arena.

With her eyes shut, she didn't want to open them. Fear had overcome her and regret of accepting the invitation traveled through her mind. In these situations, Maryse would always be pulled into them and it would have consequences.

Mr. DiBiase glanced over at the blonde and placed an odd look on his face, "What the hell are you closing your eyes for? You can open them."

As much as she didn't want too, she started to open them up little by little. Once they were full fledge opened, Her eyes would be happy to see she wouldn't be brutally murdered. It was like an arena. Groups of people surrounding a small makeshift ring. Chants of one individuals name rang through her ears and all the focus was on two men in the center of it, beating one another down to a bloody pulp. This was the big surprise of the night.

"Welcome to the world of Underground fighting," Presented the male as he stood their and watched the action, "And tonight's Main Event will be Drew McIntrye, some Scottish idiot vs." And he took his time presenting his opponent and with a cocky grin, he revealed, "Ted DiBiase."

* * *

It was extremely late and Kelly laid on the on seats that were provided for her by the hospital. Her heard was rest gently on Evan's lap as he was sleeping. Kelly couldn't sleep, though she wanted too, all because she kept thinking about Eve and if she is okay.

Eve was her best friend and she would hate to see if anything happened to her. She'd constantly hope that she'd be okay and that whoever did this would be punished for what he did. No one deserves to do anything like to Eve or to anyone else.

Kelly's eyes were beginning to shut at the moment and soon, she'd fall into a deep slumber only to dream in the slumber.

It was in all a familiar place. She was in a hospital just like she was already in but it was much more different. It was empty. It was quiet. Evan wasn't even there. The nurse's station that was occupied before was no longer occupied by anyone. It suddenly began to rain outside with a mixture of thunder and lightning in it. The thunder would make Kelly jump and chills would run down and all around her body.

Slowly the blonde decided to lift herself up and felt a nagging in her head. It felt heavy and thought she couldn't feel it for a moment. Once she had fully stood up, Kelly walked for to the Nurse's station. When she approached the desk, it looked untouched. Only a telephone was off the hook.

"Anyone here?" Called out Kelly but didn't receive a single response from anyone. Her echo was heard just to show how empty it was there.

A sudden burst of light emerged from another room. Behind a pair of double doors, a bright reddish light emerged, sinking through the cracks in the door. Kelly started to maneuver herself toward walking to the door with the thunder only getting louder and stronger.

Closer and closer that she would go, the more the thunder would get louder and the feeling of heat ran up and down her arms and soon her body. The moment right in front of the door, Kelly pulled the handle, burning herself in the same instant but managed to open it up to end up in a operation room.

Suddenly the red light went away and it was all normal and peaceful. Operating tables were completely empty except for one of them, which had a body bag resting on top of it. It gave her the creeps but yet something in her mind was just telling her to open it up, though it had no name on it.

With the zipper, she slowly began to unzip it down to it's middle and when she pulled the two apart to reveal the body, she left out a high pitched scream and pulled herself back.

"Oh my god, Eve?"

The body of Eve Torres laid in the body bag, in a very pale white color with her eyes closed. She was gone. Eve was dead. Kelly began to produce tears that crashed onto the body bag, mourning the loss of her friend.

Just as if her day wasn't bad enough, the power to the building completely shut off. Kelly was stuck in a room, alone with only a body in there and herself. She began to panic for a moment waiting for the lights to go back on. She'd back herself into the wall and eventually turn around to feel out the mirror before her.

The lights popped right back on and Kelly looked right into the mirror and discovered a masked figure standing there. Before she could let a word or a breath out, the figure took her head and crashed it into the mirror.

Gasp.

Kelly woke up in an instant. She rushed her head in an instant, waking Evan up very quickly. She took a hold of her chest and started to breathe heavily. The dream - it felt so real. It truly felt as if she really was about to die. Everything about it felt so real.

Evan grew concern for the young blonde and he quickly rushed up to her side and kept her relax, "What's the matter? Did you have a bad nightmare or something?"

Kelly turned her attention to Evan and started to take normal sized breaths. With her hand, she pushed back all of her hair and tried to keep calm, "Just a nightmare," And that's when she remembered about Eve. In an ecstatic and panic form, she answered, "Is Eve okay? Where is she?"

And that's when Cody was making his way to them. Kelly was quick to notice him and she quickly wanted to know something about Eve's condition, "Cody! Have you seen Eve? Is she okay?"

He was definitely worried about Eve but he managed to crack a smile, "She's in a room just resting. The doctors said that she is going to be fine so it's all definitely good."

Kelly managed to sigh. It was happy to hear that she was okay and that she wasn't anymore seriously hurt than she already was. With the whole dream, it freaked it out that something may have actually seriously happened to her. But what she had feared the most about the situation.

"I'm going to go grab a drink and guys," The pair looked up at Cody, "Thanks for staying," With that said, Cody walked out of the waiting room and headed for the nearest vending machine.

Evan rested his arms around Kelly's waist and placed a kiss on her head, "She's going to be fine. You've got nothing to worry about. Eve's a girl that won't really give up on anything. She's a fighter."

With a firm nod, Kelly smiled, "I know - Eve can get through just about anything."

Just to hear that her friend was okay and that she was going to be fine was just perfect. But what kept coming back into her mind was the nightmare she'd had. The meaning behind it was significant. It had something to do with what was actually happening around school. A masked figure attacking young girls. First Savannah and now Eve. It all had to mean something but placing an explanation on this all could be near impossible. Dreams always mean something but this one, she wasn't too sure about it.

* * *

A strap of white tape was being wrapped around his wrists up to his knuckles and a pair of red shorts cover his legs. A few jabs in the punching bag and he was ready. Maryse stood their looking a bit concern but yet was so excited about this whole thing. The thrill of out and being it her first time, it was really exciting. Two people beating the holy hell out of one another.

The French beauty sat on the table while the apparent pro fighter stood before him preparing himself for his big match. He'd continue to do a few practice rounds with the punching bag.

"So are you some ultimate fighter like those guys Tito Ortiz and Chuck Lidell?"

Ted turned his head around and noticed how she knew a little something about mixed martial arts, "Wow, I'm impressed Frenchie. You actually know a thing or two about fighting other than clothes or jewelry."

The term 'Frenchie' bothered her. She wasn't French but French Canadian, "Stop calling me Frenchie. I'm not French but French Canadian."

A stern look was given to her in response while he said, "Potato, Patato - same thing Frenchie," When opening the door, the door revealed over two hundred spectators ready to watch the fight. People enjoyed it for two reasons - a good way to make money with bets and some just like to see two guys beat the living hell out of them, "You ready Frenchie?"

Frenchie didn't have much of any option because no matter what, Ted was going to call her that. Ted, with Maryse by his side, made there way to the door. The crowd of people surrounding them were chanting and screaming. Music roared through the building. People were ready to see a fight.

"His opponent, Ted DiBiase!"

It was Ted's queue to begin walking down the ramp to the center where his opponent would be waiting. Maryse clutched the side of his arm and made her way down with him. She was met with the loud chants and calls of people and she could feel the excitement running through her veins.

Once he had reached the center, He saw his opponent. Long brown hair and a stupid looking expression on his face. He too went to West Beverly High and was in the same grade level as both Maryse and Ted. He was a strong Scottish descendant who knew how to fight and wasn't afraid of just about anything. The mutual hatred between the two would prove to make this fight a great one.

Once he had entered the center, She took a step aside by the end preparing to watch the two of them tear one another apart.  
In the center, the two gave each other glares. Since they couldn't stand each other, they would make sure that they were going to give their opponents absolute hell.

The bell rang. Drew was quick to attack Ted with a few strikes into his face but Ted wasn't going to allow it. His agility was key and one of his best attributes. While Drew was to busy concentrating on trying to attack Ted dead on, Ted ducked and tossed a few strikes into his midsection. He back off for a second but Ted was right back on the attack, hitting him straight on with a few jabs into his chest and face.

Drew took a fall to the ground but was quick back to his feet once he took down Ted with a tackle and got on top of him, beginning to strike him frequently. Ted did his best block any of his shots but they were all a fail as he still feel the blows coming through to him. He had to think of something quick.

While the crowd grew louder and more vile, Maryse seemed to be the only one to be worrying about Ted and the situation he was in. He was being badly beaten and people saw this a w ay of entertainment. It was more sad to see him like this and Maryse was only getting more and more worried during this whole ordeal. She just wanted to shut her eyes and when she opens them, this whole thing would be over with.

Drew managed to grab Ted into a sleeper hold position, hoping he would tap out. As Ted felt the pain crawling into his body, he wanted to give up so badly but he didn't want anything to happen like that. His eye managed to catch the eye of Maryse, who by the look in her eyes was just moments away from spilling out in tears. It gave him that extra push to just finish him off.

Ted pulled out of the position by bashing his head into Drew's face, distracting him for a moment which allow him to get up and recollect himself. Once Drew was up on his two feet, he decided that it was time to finish up this thing. With two strikes coming from both directions, Ted turned himself around and launched a kick into the air, hitting the dazed out Drew in the head, knocking out a tooth in the process and soon knocking the Scottish American onto the ground, ending this whole ordeal.

It was over - it was finally over.

The crowd went into total craze after the whole match as the referee raised his hand in victory. He could still feel the pain all over, from his head to his ribs to his legs. It was an intense match but luckily the whole thing was over.

Maryse went over to him and hugged him. Ted didn't exactly know what to do but Maryse just stood there and embraced him. Soon Ted would follow by taking his arm and holding it over her.

She didn't know why she wanted to do it but she just felt like she needed too. It was safe to say that out of everyone in this room, she had to be the most worried one out of them all in here. Just to see and know that he was safe after this whole ordeal, it was a sigh of relief for her.

"You're alright?" She asked as she pulled away, "You're not hurt or anything right? Does anything bother you?"

He laughed but she didn't understand why he'd laugh. It didn't make any sense, "I think I'll manage to live - Frenchie."

* * *

The sun was rising that early morning, right over there two bodies, which happened to be covered in white sheets. Only one could wonder what Torrie and John were up to that night. John rested upon the bed post while Torrie rested her own head on his chest and just when the sun was rising up, it hit her eyes and his and they were both opening them up.

John was the first to be wide awake. The smell of Torrie's hair was something he longed for. The moment couldn't be any more special and to know that he's finally home. Finally home after what was the biggest ordeal in his life - he made it back and he was safe. He was home - home with his family, his wife and back to his normal life.

As Torrie opened up her eyes, all the memories of waking up in a bed beside him just remerged. This was how it was suppose to be from the beginning and wasn't suppose to be anyway else. The mere thought of losing him again crossed her mind but she quickly fluttered those away and thought of the moment she was in now - a moment she waited years to happen.

Torrie lifted herself up, smiling at her beau, "I've always been wanting to say this for the past year and a half. Good morning," It was followed by a kiss, "I thought I was never going to have another chance to say that."

"It hasn't hit me that I'm home. That I'm back here with you, my family and everyone else. I feel like I've missed out on so much."

All it took was a smile on his lips to make her heart melt. Now, she wanted answers. She wanted to know what had happened to him. "John, What happened over there? They said you went missing in action and they couldn't find you. They thought you were dead. How'd they find you?"

He better get use to telling everyone this story because he was going to have to tell it to a lot more people than just Torrie. He cleared his throat briefly and began to speak, "It's a long story. We were trapped in some jungle trying to find other prisoners when our convoy was attacked. They practically killed all of the soldiers except for myself and few others guys who they decided to take prisoner. They beat his, tortured us for months until they finally rescued us. They took us too a hospital nearby where I had to go through rehab and surgery. I had the choice to call you but I wanted to surprise you instead. I just wanted to be there to see the look on you're face when you saw me and when I saw you."

It moved Torrie to tears of his enduring battle for his life. All along he was alive. She lifted herself up and smiled at him, "I actually gave up hope that you were ever going to come back but something kept telling me you were out there. I'd keep reading the letters and emails you'd sent me to keep my mood up and that always gave me that little voice in my head saying you were fine."

"Now, that little voice doesn't have to tell you anything because I'm here to tell you that I'm back and I'm not going to go anywhere," He announced, "They already found me a job at some mechanically shop down by Santa Monica Pier. I'm all set."

"Are you sure this isn't no engineering job like last time?" Her referral was to the last job had gotten when he was sent back from the marines when he was offered an engineering position and it really was a janitor's job, "No janitor this time?"

He offered a fake laugh than a silly smile, "No, this one is for real. This is an actually mechanic job with me working on cars and motorbikes. No need to worry."

Torrie jumped right back into his arms and fitted herself by his side. They rested their for a moment before John began to speak up, "Now that I've filled you in. Fill me in on everyone else. The family, Chris, Kelly and all of them. What happened to them while I was gone?"

"This going to take a long time," In her mind, she had everything listed about what she was going to tell them, "My parents are fine - they are somewhere in Costa Rica. You're parents moved back to Boston after they though you were dead. Chris and Trish had a baby girl Holly and so did Dave and Candice. Kelly's doing good, now that she is in West Beverly. I could go on and on but everyone's good. I'm so excited that you're back and everyone is going to be so happy to hear that you're back and okay."

And that's when an idea just popped in Torrie's head.

"You know, I have an idea. Maybe in a few weeks, after you get settled and everything. We can have a whole barbeque with everyone to celebrate the fact that you're back and you're still alive. How does that sound to you?"

He nodded with a smile, "That sounds great but you know what I want to do today?" Momentarily pausing, he smirked, "I really want to just spend the weekend with you and the kids. Go away or something. Head to the beach and just catch up. I've missed out and now I just want to be caught up with everything."

And right when he mentioned the children, a loud high pitched scream allured from the hallway.

Torrie glanced over at him, "Well, you can start catching up my getting you're daughter. You haven't seen her since she was a month or two old and now you can go see how she's grown to be a big girl."

"And you've already gotten me working," He gave her a kiss on the cheek and grabbed his shorts and placed them on, "Don't worry Ella, Daddy's coming now," John quickly exited the room and rushed to his daughter's side.

All had came true. John was finally pack and Torrie's mind and heart were at ease. All was at peace now and nothing could ruin this. Her life was back to the way it should have been and there was nothing to worry about anymore. It was completely perfect - or was it?

* * *

He was nervous. He had known that Eve was okay but it still scared him that someone did this to her. How could some individual do this to her? Eve was such a young and smart girl who didn't deserve anything like this to happen to her. And if Cody ever gets his hands on the person who did this, they are going to have hell to pay for all of this that he or she had done.

Cody received the green light by Eve's parents to visit her in her room, while she was quietly resting inside. Evan and Kelly had already left but promised to come back a little bit later. Cody's hand reached for the knob and he turned it to open the door. The sunlight had reached into the room and was flowing over Eve's body on the bed. The sound of machines checking her heart rate was all that could be heard. It was that quiet.

Shutting the door, he wanted to be as quiet as possible. Located at the side of the bed was an unoccupied chair so he gently pulled that one up to her bedside. She looked so peaceful and relaxed. A Visible bandage was placed right above her left eyebrow due to her cut.

As told by doctors, Eve was just diagnosed with a minor concussion and doctors had told she should be fine and could be released from the hospital as early as tomorrow if all the tests come out good.

A police report was filed and now there is a criminal investigation going on to find out whoever did this. Police believe this could be connected to Savannah's attack. She was just attacked a few days ago and police believe this could be the same person who had attacked Savannah. They had a serial attacker on the loose.

Cody took a hold of Eve's hand and brushed her hand with his fingers, "I can't believe someone would do this to you but I just want to let you know that we are going to find this person and everything is going to be okay. When I get my hands on this person, I'm going to make sure that they don't touch anyone else."

To his surprise, her eyes began to flutter. Her eyes were slowly opening up and the first image she had seen was Cody. With her lips, she managed to form a smile to him, "Hey.." She softly answered as she tried to move.

"Hey, don't move. It's just. You just relax. No need to move. Do you need anything?"

"No," Eve spoke very softly, "I just want to know what the hell happened to me? My head is killing me and why am I in a hospital?"

"Well, we were at Rosa's party and you went off somewhere. I came to look for you and I found you hurt on the floor so this is what brings us to the hospital. The doctors said you're going to be okay. You're just going to need to rest for a little while and everything should be just fine."

Her memory was a little bit blurry but she could remember some of events of last night. She pictured the mysterious figure making their way to her and striking her with the lamp. It was all coming back.

A tear rolled down her cheek, "I think the person who attacked me was the same person who attacked Savannah."

"Police think the same thing," Revealed the raven haired boy, "They are investigating right now. They are going to find this creep or I may have to do that myself."

"Thanks for being here with me."

"You think I'd ever leave you like this? I would never do that to you. You're my girlfriend and I love you. What am I suppose to do?"

Like a VCR, she rewinded and replayed the words Cody had just told her. It made her heart race and cheeks blush, "Cody, could you say that again. Those three words that you just said to me."

It took him a moment to actually figure out what she meant but once he thought back, he realized what he had said and he honestly didn't want to take it back. He meant it. He really meant it and he was going to make it known. The way he felt for Eve these past few months; there was only three words to really sum it all out - I love you.

"I love you - I really do."

It made her smile even more. The pain in her head was quickly receding and being replaced with something in her heart. Her heart began to thump and jump and there was only one explanation behind it. She loved him and she was going to make it known, "I love you too."

* * *

**A/N:** And Chapter 16 is done and ready. I had to get it out of the way before the holiday weekend :)  
Now drama is seriously going to begin in the next few chapters involving several characters.  
Please vote on the poll please. It's concerning this story!  
Also, If you like TED/MARYSE - please read **YOU LOST ME** - it's my new story :)  
Thanks for Reading and Please **REVIEW!**


	17. Need You Now

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Seventeen_ - Need You Now

It was a day that was certainly just waiting to come and Eve had no choice but to finally face it. After her stay in the hospital and a few days at home to rest, Eve had to return to school - whether she liked it or not.

Accompanied by her boyfriend, someone who hasn't left her side, Eve was making her way through the hallways early that morning. Her fellow students stood around her and watched the recent victim walk right through the halls. Some gave her sympathetic looks while some gave her and Cody as well, some glares for something neither of the two of them knew about.

They soon made it to the courtyard where the pair took a seat on the stone wall as students rushed through their classrooms for class as some individuals still gave looks to the pair.

It really didn't make sense. Eve was a recent victim of the attacks and some people seemed to care while others gave her glares as if she deserved what had happened to her. Nothing made sense to her.

Cody turned to her and took a hold of her hand and looked up into her eyes, "So you think you're going to be fine today?"

"I think I'll be more than fine. My mother gave me pepper spray to carry and whistle to blow just in case that guy comes back and tries anything again," She paused for a brief moment and proposed a question, "Did you feel people were like staring at us before and not in a really good way?"

It didn't come across well to Cody what she was trying to ask, "Babe, I don't get it. What are you trying to say? People were giving you dirty looks?"

"Basically. Not everyone, some people seemed like they felt bad for me and some people made it seemed like I deserved it. They kept giving me a bad look. It just didn't make sense."

"Don't pay attention to any of that."

But how could she? If someone is giving you a dirty look and all, how are you not suppose to avoid it? It just didn't make much sense at all. Something like this happens and based on people's facial expressions, it makes Eve look like the bad person and not the person who really did it.

"I'm suppose to deal with it? People are probably going around and talking about me and I'm not going to let that happen to me. I'm not going to be the center of gossip for the next month."

It didn't take long for Eve to notice Natalya Neidhart or also known as Nattie, one of the softball players and a girl who knew a lot about what was going around in this school. It was like West Beverly's on TMZ, just minus the whole camera crew. Next to her friend Beth Phoenix, her best friend, the duo was walking past them before Eve grabbed her attention, "Nattie, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Hey Eve," Nattie smiled, "Good to see you back in school."

"Thanks," The Latina spoke, "I just wanted to ask you something. Since after all, you know about everything that's going on in this school, I was wondering if you know anything going around about me."

Both Nattie and Beth glanced down to the ground before Nattie bit her lip, about to reveal something to Eve, "Eve, while you were going on, some news went out while you were gone, about the whole attack thing. A lot of people are going around saying that you told everyone that Miz did the whole thing to you."

Her jaw had certainly dropped to the ground, after hearing that because she had never accused anyone as Cody stood quiet and didn't say anything.

"People got a text around school saying that you told the police that Miz was the one who did the whole thing, that explains why he spent a night in jail the other day. They are charging him with the crime of attacking you."

It could have been the Miz but Eve didn't know that. Eve didn't even say a word to the police about the whole thing, just that someone she didn't know attacked her and she couldn't recognize her. Someone said something and now she's in trouble and so is the Miz.

"I didn't say anything. I never wrote a text. I don't even have a phone."

Beth stepped in and added more to Nattie revelation, "Some people, including the Miz, got a text from this blocked number and a lot of people had just believed it was you that sent it to get back at him because people don't think he did it."

"I've got to fix this. Thanks girls."

Nattie nodded and said, "Thank you," right before she and Beth walked to their classroom.

Someone had said something that they really shouldn't have. It not only is ruining the life of one person, who may have not actually did it but it was ruining hers as well. It was making it look like she was a bad person when she would never do anything like that.

Her eyes would travel to Cody's eyes and she looked puzzled, "Who would do something like this? I don't get who would do something like this.

Cody stood silent for that moment before speaking, "Yeah, I don't know who," And little of what Eve knew was that someone she may have really trusted could be the very one who did this to her and the Miz but could never say a word or he would lose something very important

* * *

Every morning, Monday through Friday, the girl's room was extremely occupied - beyond capacity.

The girls in this school would flutter into these bathrooms right before first period to fix any flaw concerning their makeup or there hair. None of them knew who could be looking at them or who could be saying something about them so their best bet was to look their best. Some guy could be giving them a stare and not one of them would take chances in risking something like that.

But for Kelly, she wasn't so into making sure her appearance was perfect at all moments - since she had only one guy to impress and he wouldn't care if she was dressed in a potato sack. She was still his girlfriend and he was still her boyfriend.

Doing about anything possible to avoid the crowds of women, Kelly would miss a part of her first period class, which happened to be gym and she obviously could care less. No interest of throwing around a red ball into hoops.

While applying some lip gloss to her lips, Kelly concentrated on fixing up her hair. After applying the sticky glowing substance, A sudden thump sprung from one of the stalls. Much to the digression of the noise, Kelly snapped her neck back to the spot where she had first heard the noise.

It definitely frightened her. With the whole stalker going around school and town, Kelly was most definitely put on the edge over the whole thing.

The whole mood was perfect. Kelly was alone in the bathroom and the first victim, Savannah was attacked in this very bathroom. The whole situation was striking fear in her eye.

The fear was quickly shattered when someone that could be even more feared than the stalker themselves - Maryse Ouellet.

"So I thought I was the only one who comes in here during first period? Let me guess, you don't want to deal with the thousands of girls flooding in here to fix their makeup?" Asked Maryse as she stood positioned herself into the mirror, applying some blush.

"Basically - It's a zoo in here before 8:40am. At 8:41am, it's like nothing ever happened so why not come a minute after and be able to breathe and fix yourself up. Wouldn't you agree?"

"And you know what's funny - some girls actually think that the more makeup they put on, the better they look," Her signature laugh had escaped her lips before she concluded the sentence, "When they are really beginning to look like Bozo the clown."

It wasn't too difficult to laugh and the blonde had fell into the temptation and began laughing at the tad bit harsh jokes of Maryse's, "Where have you been Miss Superstar? This is like the first time I've seen you in about the whole week."

This past week - Maryse just needed to get out of town a little bit. She had plans just to head south for a few days to relax with her Mom and sister, who flew down from New York. Yeah, she didn't go too far. Fiji wasn't really to far away with a first class plane ticket.

"I was in Fiji."

And she said it as if it was nothing - that people normally go to Fiji on the weekends just to get out of town. That was Maryse. She made what seemed to be impossible - possible.

"Typical Maryse; Jet setting to a place that I couldn't even find on the map."

After reconciling a few months ago with Kelly, there relationship had reformed even with Maryse and Eve's most recent out burst, the two had still manage to keep it good between the two of them. No trouble or animosity between these two lovely ladies.

"So," And that's when the French Canadian placed down her makeup and focused her attention onto Kelly, who was preoccupied fixing up her eyeliner, "If you don't mind me asking, how are you and Evan doing? Ever since you two little lovebirds got together, I've been wondering what has been going on and how this whole thing happened?"

A soft smile was received in response to Maryse's questioning, "Well -" She elongating the whole well and kept staling before continuing, "It's going good - really good," Said the radiant blonde and ended the sentence with a smile.

"That smile only could say one thing - you two did it!"

With her mouth dropping down to the ground, Kelly turned her head to Maryse, "Maryse!"

"Ah-ha! It is true because if it wasn't, you would be denying it and yelling at me for even thinking that I would ask something like that," Though they hadn't been as close as they use to be, Maryse still knew a thing or two about Kelly, "I may have not been around for a while, but my memory remains."

"Well we didn't. We're just enjoying what we have at the moment and it's really good. No complaints and I wouldn't change it for the world," It was true. Everything was simply great and moving at a really good pace. Nothing that makes her believe there relationship was in jeopardy and now with her questions out of the way, It was Kelly's turn, "So now you - What's with you and Ted? I see you spending so much time with him."

This was a topic that Kelly would regret asking Maryse because now, Maryse actually had someone talk to him about. The whole time, she hadn't really had a friend to talk to about the whole thing and now was her chance to let everything out to.

A sweet smile came across her lips, "He's just like - amazing. I really like him and I can tell he really likes me too but just has some issues with actually telling me about it. I can see it in his eyes how he just wants to rip my clothes off and take me to his bedroom so he can do anything he wants to me and just -"

Kelly's young ears had certainly heard enough of this and wasn't going to tolerate hearing anymore of this, "Uh, wait. You can just stop right there. Please don't get too detail with this whole thing and make me want to throw up in the process."

"Okay, Okay - I get it but he just has the like Dylan McKay type look. He's totally badass and like, there's something about him that just makes me so," The words too find to describe this about him, "He's just so irresistible."

"So when is he going to ask you out?"

And that was question that She didn't have answer too but what she was about to say was the only thing she could say about it, "Soon - really soon."

* * *

Tonight was certainly going to be a special night for the returning Marine, John Cena. It was a reunion - a special one. Torrie had gathered up a barbeque to celebrate John's return along with close friends and family. Mr. and Mrs. Cena came, as well as Torrie's parents and close friends Randy and Stacy.

Many were definitely shocked to see him. Many of them had lost hope that he was long gone. Mrs. Cena took it harshly believing she had lost her only son but was relieved to see him as well as his father.

After saying hello to various members of the family, John ventured into the kitchen where Torrie was continuing to prepare several delicious meals for their guests. John quickly wrapped his strong arms around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"Making my favorite again?" The smell of Torrie's lasagna went through the nostrils of John, sighing with pleasure, "Smells extremely delicious."

"I figured that since we are celebrating you're return, I thought I'd include your favorite meal and I still make it the same way I've always did it."

John began to kiss her neck softly, muttering through them each kiss, "Can't we just cancel this whole thing and take what you're cooking into the kitchen with me into the bedroom?"

And if they couldn't walk in anymore of a awkward situation, Both Kelly and Evan heard something they really didn't want to here, as John continued to kiss Torrie's soft neck. Kelly would be the first to address the issue, "Save it for the bedroom guys!"

Abruptly, Torrie and John stopped and looked at the two teenagers standing before them. John choose to be the first to comment on the two's interruption, "I though you two were studying?"

"Yeah.." Evan trailed off on Kelly and his failed attempt to study for their math test tomorrow, "We figured we'd fail, go to community colleges, do our best than transfer to USC."

Evan had a football in his hand and John brought up a proposition for Evan, "Want to go for a few throws Evan? I'll show you the throws that got me a scholarship at USC."

The young Bourne nodded in agreement and the two were off into the yard, beginning to toss around the football as Kelly joined Torrie in the kitchen, helping her prepare some food, "Here, let me help make something. Did I mention I make an amazing Salsa dip?"

"Don't mess up now and try not to put too much jalapeño. Dad nearly went to the emergency room with the last one you made.

"Relax, I've learned my lesson."

For Kelly, something wasn't plugging into the whole situation with John. Yes, she was glad he was back but Torrie was forgetting something that Kelly had remembered. It shocked her that Torrie hadn't come across it or noticed it, just isn't doing anything about it. The time had come to address the situation.

"So, did you tell AJ that John came back?"

"What are you talking -" And in the instant, Torrie dropped the knife into the sneak and it had all hit her like that. With all of what had happened, Torrie had forgotten about AJ.

AJ - her boyfriend was in San Diego and her husband was back. This was a catastrophe. How could she have forgotten something like this? This was a huge mess she had gotten into and getting out of it was going to be difficult. How was she going to handle this? Torrie was boxed into a corner.

"Oh my god, AJ? How did I forget? What am I going to do?"

"Let's relax. Be calm," Kelly told her, "You're lucky because AJ comes back on Saturday so you've got some time to figure this thing out. First question, Who are you going to pick? You can't have both and one is going to be hurt after this whole thing."

That certainly was a tough decision. AJ was a kind and sweet man that had been there for her this whole time and never let her side. Through the whole loss of John, he was there. He had a big heart and a whole lot of love in him. He treated her like a star and Torrie loved him. How could she even break something like this off to him? She'd never met anyone like him.

Then there's John. John was her first love. They had been through so much and he was the father of her two children. He was just simply amazing and now that he was back, she was so happy. She had hoped and waited for the day and it came and now she may just have to give it up but how could she do that? She loves John and doing something like that is too difficult.

But even though she loves both men, She had to come up with a decision and figure out what exactly she is going to do and quick.

For now, some advice for Kelly would do, "Kelly, what am I going to do? I was so smitten with John's return and now, he'll hate me if he finds out about this and AJ will hate me too. Here's where you're suppose to help me."

There's only one question Kelly could ask that could determine what Torrie should do, "Answer this question: How do you love more?"

It was one of the questions that had multiple answers or no answer at all. Her love for both men was strong but one was a little bit stronger. One was a definite. One was true. One was her love.

"It's John. It's him. I've never looked at AJ the way I've looked at John. John and I have such a history. He has done so much for me and he's always been there," And then her mind was changing, pointing in different directions, "But AJ has been there too. He's been with me for so much and for so long. Kel, I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Listen, He's coming back in two days. You'll come up with something. Just now, enjoy today. Enjoy being with your family and enjoy being with John."

Torrie quickly nodded in agreement. Kelly was right and for now, she didn't have an answer. It was just time to figure out this whole thing. For now, be happy. For now, enjoy what she had at the moment because any second, this could be all taken away.

* * *

Apart from family, Randy along with Stacy joined in on the barbeque along with Connor and Emily, who were running around there with Nathan. With a cold beer in his hand, Randy headed into the front yard, watching some of the traffic passing by and getting some air.

Over the past week, Randy and Stacy have really fixed up some holes in their marriage. It wasn't completely repaired but some points of interest were being fixed up. He's being a better father and spending more time at home and has really kept away from Dawn accept for a few quick encounters that Stacy doesn't know about.

But everything was good - for now.

A silver car pulled up into the parking spot in front of Torrie and John's home and out came a brunette - one a bit familiar to Randy. It was none other than Dawn Marie. A sleek smile brushed up against her lips when she spotted the gym teacher. She graciously walked over, removing her large sunglasses and smile at Randy.

"Randy Orton - good to see you," Dawn's eyes traced his body, "How have you been?"

He didn't know how to exactly approach the brunette since there encounters were kept extremely short and was keeping away from her. The awkwardness was present, "I've been good and yourself? What brings you over here?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you. Torrie invited me over for the barbeque. Who knew I'd see you here and we'd actually talk for more than five seconds?"

The whole thing screamed awkwardness. Dawn was going to make it known and make it as uncomfortable as possible for the individual. She had a hunch about why Randy was really doing this.

"So, can you tell me why you've being avoiding me, not answering my phone calls, texts or emails?"

Dawn was the girl who shouldn't go there but she goes there. How Randy was going to deal with this? Well, he'll have to figure this whole thing out, "Listen, I'm just trying to spend some more time with Stacy and the kids - that's all. So that explains why I've been a little distant.

"Does it have anything to do with Stacy believing that you and myself are having an affair?"

If Dawn wanted answers, she was going to get it even if it does make her look like a total idiot. Randy quickly answered with a simple "No."

"Then why are you doing all of this? Does Stacy think something is going on?"

And if there couldn't be a better time to enter than now. Stacy stepped forward into the front yard to see the pair and heard something she wasn't suppose to hear. Her eyes traveled across and faced Randy, "What's going on here?"

"Oh, it's nothing Stacy. Me and Randy were just chit chatting," A quirky smile brushed across her lips with her hand brushing through her hair, "Well, I better be going now. Stacy, it was just wonderful to see you and Randy, I'll see you at work this week.

Just because she was angry and just because she knew that Randy and Stacy were having problems, she figured she could do something that could leave a nice lasting impression and to make an already bad situation, even worse.

"And Randy, thanks for lunch this week. We such definitely consider going back to that place."

In addition to the anger she had already felt toward seeing the two together, the revelation that the two had actually spent lunch together this week took a hit to Stacy's heart and demolished the trust that she shared with him. There was no trust furthermore. There wasn't anything. He lied, again. He betrayed her, again.

Dawn took the chance to get out of the situation by entering back into her car and driving off. Randy knew Dawn had lied about it and now, getting his wife to believe him would be a difficult task.

"Stace, let me explain."

But he wasn't going to give him that chance when he was interrupted by her, "Explain what? I thought I had made myself clear. I told you to stay away from her. Randy, what don't you understand from that phrase?"

"She's lying. I never went out to lunch with her at all. I admit, I did see her, I said hello and I walked away. I kept everything short and simple and didn't do anything bad. Listen, I'm not lying to you," He took a hold of her and looked into his eyes, "You believe me right? Stace, please tell me you believe me."

It was such a difficult question to answer. Randy had been lying this whole time and all of a sudden he becomes a truthful human being after this all. None of this made any sense at all. Stacy removed Randy's hand from her shoulders and glanced at the ground for a moment before looking back up at him. A visible tear traveled down her cheek and the tear told Randy what was going to happen now.

"I don't believe you."

It really sent a rock through Randy's heart, smashing it into pieces. He had lost Stacy's trust and for once, it wasn't his fault. He hadn't done anything bad but it was Dawn this time. Randy came to conclusion that he wasn't going to change her mind. When Stacy made a choice, she stuck by it.

* * *

So far, so good. No complaints about the barbeque being hosted currently. Everyone was enjoying it so far but John noticed Nathan had disappeared from the backyard. Ella was in his father's lap and John suddenly heard a noise coming from the front yard. A young boy's laugh.

He excused himself from his meal and went around his home to find Nathan, tossing around a ball with a man he didn't recognized the much taller man. He could see the bright smile on his young son's face, enjoying throwing around a football.

"Nathan," Called out John, "Food's ready."

"Alright, I'm coming Dad," Nathan grabbed the football and ran up John. John greeted him with a hand rubbing down on his head, "I was just throwing around the football, like you use to do when you were in school."

"That's right."

And the unknown individual was making his way toward John with a confused look on his face. As he made his way to John, he extended his hand and offered a smile, "Can i help you with something?"

"I'm AJ."

John didn't recognize the individual and was unsure why he was here and playing here with his son. It did take a moment for AJ to actually plug in who this man was. It was Torrie's supposed dead husband, who looks very much alive. He wasn't back from the dead but this whole time was very much alive.

"John," The father of two offered his hand and AJ gladly shook it, "I believe we haven't met before. You've came for the barbeque?"

The history teacher thought back for a moment. What was John doing here? He seems completely happy now and it's just a little bit suspicious for AJ. Torrie had something to do with this, "Not really - I've came to see Torrie. I hope she may have told you something about myself?"

"Nope - she didn't mention anything about you."

He obviously had no other choice. What else is he suppose to do at this point? It's do or die, "Well John, I work with Torrie over at West Beverly and while you were gone, Torrie and myself - we're in a relationship."

John's eyes narrowed at the man. He tapped on his son's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Head into the backyard, I'll be right there," And his son did as he was told and he ran off into the backyard and that's when John stepped up to the man, coming only a mere three feet away from him, glaring at him, "What are you talking about man? Torrie's not dating anyone."

And to make matters even worse, Torrie was coming into the front yard trying to look for John. It was at that moment when her heart just dropped right there. They were right there and it looked like they were seconds away from beating each other into pieces.

"Oh my god…"

Once he looked at Torrie, so many thoughts raced through John's mind but just to realize that she had been dating someone while he wasn't around. It certainly did hurt him. To know that the girl of his dreams, the most beautiful woman in the world and the love of his life was moving on and leaving him there. How could she do this? He didn't know but now he wanted answers - and really good ones.

"Torrie, I think we need to talk."

Torrie slowly walked over to John. He stood their with a glare while AJ stood there, waiting for the blonde to speak, "Listen John, we can talk about this but just not right now."

"Not now? Then when? Torrie, is what AJ said true?" John waited for a response and when Torrie didn't look him in the eyes and let her head crashed down, he knew the answer and it sent a bullet right through his heart, "I can't believe it."

"John, please let me explain to you. You were gone for so long. Believe me, I kept on believing that you were still out there but when days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, I was giving up. I accepted that you were gone and I thought you were never going to come back so I moved on.."

"You certainly didn't act like you moved on this whole week. You never mentioned him at all. I never even heard of him but you continued on our relationship without telling me that you were in another one with someone else."

And that's when it had struck AJ that Torrie resumed her relationship with John. It also took a bullet to his heart as well to think that Torrie had moved on and haven't even told him anything. That same scar that was opened up because of Christy was being opened up again.

"Wait!" AJ stepped in with his voice slightly raised, "You've been with him this whole time? You've resumed you're relationship? What about us Tor? When were you planning on telling me about this whole thing?"

All the anxiety and all the pain came rushing back into her body. Two men she both loved were now completely turned against her. This night was a disaster.  
"I can't believe this," Spoke up AJ, while a tear crawled down Torrie's cheek, "Seriously, this is done. I through with this. I'm sick of having my heart being taken on a wild ride like this."

AJ Styles had enough. His heart was being tossed around like a rag doll and he would not have anymore of it. AJ took one last look at Torrie, glaring at her, before he stepped away and quickly exited the front yard and disappeared into the streets to clear his mind.

Torrie reached over to hold John's arm but he snapped it back and growled out some words, "I can't believe this. This whole time you sat here and you lied to me about this whole time. You never mentioned a damn thing about this. How could you do this Torrie?"

"How was I suppose to do this? This was just difficult when I thought about it. How can I make a decision like this? To pick over you and AJ; It's impossible."

"I'll make it easier for you."

One last look at his wife's eyes and he stormed off into the home. He had a plan to just pack. Pack what he can and just to get the hell out of there. He wasn't going to just sit there and be lied to anymore.

While he retrieved into the home, Torrie collapsed onto her knees. This time, she couldn't control her tears. The sobs were loud and her tears crashed to the ground like a boulder off a cliff. Everything was gone. She'd lost AJ. She'd lost John. This was what she had feared the most and it all came true. If there was an unlucky person in this world, Torrie would be that person.

She thought when she had first lost John that this was it but nothing was worse than this. She knew he was long and gone but he had every right to do that. Her life was now heading for disaster. The two people that could keep her away from that were Gone.

* * *

Where was the young Maryse Ouellet spending the night? Joining Ted for yet another eventful evening of some underground fighting. This time, the two of them would be enjoying it from the sidelines and not be in the center of the attention.

For Maryse, she enjoyed it. It was a thrill. To see something completely different and out of her comfort zone, she still liked it. Not only to see something different, but to be joined by Ted's company. Maryse wasn't going to lie - she really liked Ted. Something about him just brings something out of her and something inside of her. This whole relationship was a confusing one for her. He wasn't sure if he had felt the same but really hoped he did.

As they were making there way to the crowd, he headed off to talk with some friends not to far away from her. She on the other hand took a spot at the bar. With a drink in her hand, she was scanning the surroundings only to see Ted. He was looking directly at her and smiling. Maryse's heart was fluttering inside as she watched the individual.

There was something about the man that just did something to her. Ted DiBiase just made her really happy.

While he returned to speaking with some friends, Maryse sipped on her drink and she would be joined with a older guy - not too old. He looked about twenty two and had blonde hair that was shaped into a fohawk. He seemed harmless - that was until he decided to open up his mouth.

The man eyed Maryse from top to bottom and she had to admit, anytime she got a look - unless it was from a creepy old man - she did like it. Maryse had a love for Attention. His eyes traveled all around her body and stopped at certain areas to get a more in-depth look.

"I wish they would let girls like you fight. Fight in maybe a giant pool of beer or something. I think you'd be able to tear apart any girl," With his comment she giggled and he offered his hand, "Name's Chuck."

"Maryse."

He wasn't stupid to notice the French accent and decided to play around with that, "You're French? They've got one of the sexiest accents I've ever heard - especially yours."

He was just feeding her what she always love to her. To others, it's compliments but to her, it's the truth.

"Thanks you. French women don't only have sexy accents. We have a lot more than that."

"Oh, I'd like to see that," And that's when she noticed his hand starting to creep up her leg, heading into the upper thigh region, "Maybe you could show me a little bit of that tonight?"

Maryse was not a rag doll that you could just take anywhere you would like. Maryse did have morals - they weren't the best ones but she knew when it was enough and when to stop and in this case, she wanted to stop and she wants him to stop."

Maryse removed his bulky hand and giggled softly, "Too bad you're not going to get any of that tonight. You'll have to pick another girl who's easy enough to get in bed with you because honey, it isn't me."

Leaving her drink at the bar, she proceeded to walk away only to get pulled back aggressively by Chuck, right back to the bar. She was not appreciating this at the moment. She wouldn't be taken advantage off or anything like that - after all, she's Maryse. She calls the shots.

"Listen, I've got an apartment not to far away from here so you and myself can finish this night up the way we both would like it. So, what do you say Frenchie?"

If there's a name in the English dictionary that Maryse didn't like to be called - it was frenchie. With her hand, she pushed him away and tried to walk away but he wouldn't give up. He just didn't get the picture. This time, he aggressively pulled her back and wrapped his arm around her waist, trying to get a little pre-game before it could escalate into his bedroom of his apartment.

"Stop! Leave me alone!"

"Come on frenchie, I know you're dying to have some of this."

This was just enough to get Ted's attention. Ending the conversation with his friends, he walked over to the bar and saw the man putting his hands all over Maryse. He didn't like it. He walk over to him and tapped on his shoulder.

Chuck turned around slowly, "What the hell do -" but couldn't finish his sentence when Ted sent a punch across his face and he fell down to the ground like a sack of bricks.

Maryse felt the relief of the man's hands of her as Ted came to her rescue. Ted grabbed the blonde's hand and began to guide her out of the scene of distrubance, "Come on, let's get out of here."

Ted held her hand tightly and he guided her out of the room and straight out into the parking lot. His car was parked right there and they quickly went inside, hoping to get out of there before he comes back for anything else. While in the car, Ted put the keys in the ignition but didn't turn it on just yet. He turned over and faced Maryse.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you or anything?"

Nodding with a no, Maryse managed to leak out a smile, "Thank you," Maryse definitely felt safe that Ted was there to give her a hand if she was ever in a situation like that, "Thanks for helping out back there."

With a firm nod, he placed his hands on the wheel but before he could do anything, Maryse leaned her head onto his shoulder, "If you weren't there, I don't know what I would have done. I just need you right there and now."

"It's fine."

His stern answer was a confusing one. His personality was a very closed one. He never really let anyone in and if this was his way of saying your welcome, then so be it. She'd accept anything from him at the moment and was just happy that he was at the right place at the right time.

* * *

**A/N: **Chapter 17 done and completed!  
What did you all think about this? Not my best chapter but i still liked it.  
There's still a poll up so please go and vote! It's about this story.  
Thanks for reading guys and please review!


	18. Change Of Heart

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Eighteen_ - Change of Heart

Ever since the whole rumor had spread, Eve hadn't been portrayed as a victim she was to the attack but as a liar and conniving girl. Due to an anonymous text message stating that she had told the entire school that Miz was the one who attacked her, no one in school had been Seeing Eye to eye to her except for some individuals who included Cody, Kelly and Evan.

That Tuesday morning, she did what she would do every morning at school. Get her books for class, check the morning news that was being hosted by Evan and somehow make it through the crowds of students. A short glimpse in her locker mirror, Eve fixed up her curly hair and adjusted her black off the shoulder top along with her dark jeans and dark purple boots.

A sudden vibration emerged from her purse. It was a text message on her phone. It was Cody. _Meet me by your locker. I want to talk to you about something really quick. See you a in second._

_Wonder what he wants. _The text was odd of Cody to send. Usually he has sweet messages for her but today's was a bit odd. It looked as if she was going to get some answers right now. Cody was making his way right for her, with a concerned expression written all over his face.

Eve could only greet him with a sweet smile and a kiss on his lips once he had made his way over to him. She soon took her hand into his before speaking, "Hey babe – what's up? You look a little upset."

He was hiding something. Never in this relationship had Cody done anything to hurt Eve. The last thing he ever wanted to do to Eve is hurt her or even see her hurt. Seeing her laying in Rosa's house on the floor that night was hurtful enough for him and now he knew without a doubt that he would hurt again with what he was going to say.

He took a deep breath before he decided to speak, "After what I'm about to say, I really want you to where I am coming from and why I did this."

With the palm of her hand, she grazed his cheek and grew a concerned look on her face, "You can tell me babe."

_I guess this is it. Here goes nothing._

"The night after you were attacked, I was so upset. I was never that upset in my life seeing you so helpless and hurt. I had no clue who did this to you. No one knew who did this to you but I had a thought of who it could be. It just made so much sense afterwards. The situation was perfect and it the puzzle piece only fit with him. I didn't know what to do but I really thought he did it and that's when I –"

The missing puzzle piece she needed to fit into this puzzle was right there and she didn't see it. Right then and there, she finished the sentence for Cody, "Sent the text message."

While she froze right into position, the raven haired individual wanted to make sense of the whole situation he was in to his girlfriend. He wanted to show her why he did this whole thing.

"Just listen to me for a second. I only did this because it made perfect sense. The Miz and I fight, he walks off, you disappear and I find you in a room hurt. It just all made sense. Remember everything he has been doing to you – to us? He's trying to tear us apart and harassing you. He deserved it. He deserved this to happen to him."

She was upset. She could see where Cody was coming from but he had absolutely no right to do this. It wasn't his place to be. This text went so far that the Miz had to be questioned by the police all about this. It wasn't right for Cody to say and do. He didn't know the facts.

"Cody, how could you do this? I understand you believed he did this but you don't know that. I don't know that and we can't be jumping to conclusions about this whole ordeal. The police are handling it and it's not our business."

But she wasn't done there – there was more to it and it was more serious than this.

"And I can't believe you would spread this rumor and place the blame on me. I come to school and I'm the center of attention over something I never did. Over something I never said and you," She pointed her finger directly in front of him, "just let me take all of this garbage while I've been wondering what the hell has been going on."

"I know I shouldn't have and I'm sorry but I just wanted to get back at the Miz for everything he's been doing. I'm sick of him over us like a hawk. Don't you want him out of our lives?"

"And you figured that maybe he could go to jail, for a crime he may have not committed and we'd live happily ever after? That's not how it's going to work. Now, you've practically ruined his life. The only bad guy here is you Cody. You and you're anger."

With one last growl, Eve turned her body around to see the potential suspect looking right at her at. Mike's body was lying beside the locker of an unknown student looking directly at Eve with a pair of cold eyes. His life had been a total whirlwind for weeks because of this and now he was sick of it all. Miz wanted some answers and he wants them now.

Eve stepped up before him and leaned in to touch his arm, "Mike, Listen I'm sorry for everything that had happened. I didn't say anything to the police. I hadn't even spoken to anybody about it. Someone just started this sick rumor and I really hope you can understand."

With his cold eyes, he refocused his attention to Cody for a moment and back to Eve before he himself stood up to his actions, "I want to tell you that I never did a damn thing to you. Do you know the hell you put me through these past weeks? People look at me as if I'm some crazy person. I would never put my hands on another girl. I was taught better than that."

"I know. I'm really sorry about this all."

"And just to show you some proof," In his pocket his handed Eve a piece of paper from the LAPD, stating some important information, "I have an alibi. I was with Jack and Layla at the time of when your attack to place so it couldn't be me."

Eve's eyes scanned the paper and Cody peeped over to see for himself. He actually felt bad for the Miz and it was his fault.

"Miz, I'm really sorry."

"No –" Cody stepped in and faced the Miz, "I was the idiot who sent out that text man. I'm sorry that I did it. I should have never did this."

Taking a good and hard look at Cody, Miz turned away from Cody for a moment before staring him right back. In that instant, he really would have punched him right in the face for the crap he had to deal with for the time being but no.

"You know Cody – if I was the way I usually was, I would have punched you right in the face," He paused to take a glimpse at Cody's reaction before he continued, "But I'm not going to. I'm letting this go and I'm going to pretend none of this ever really happened. Just know this – don't lie about something as serious as this."

It really made Eve feel good that everything was out in the open but what she really loved the most was the way the Miz had handled this whole. He really took this well and like anybody should really. No one should use violence to prove a point because people are only going to get hurt and nothing is going to be resolved. It was like a new Miz – a much different one.

Eve looked over to Miz and smiled, "I'm happy this whole thing is finally resolved and all so Miz, I hope I could maybe make it up to you. How about after school we had to the peach pit?"

"I don't know."

"Please, it would make me feel better about this situation that I've put you in. Think of it as a second apology, just with food."

With a smile, he nodded his head, "Okay, we can go," He was definitely happy to see Eve wanting to go somewhere with him. It was just a nice gesture, "Now I've got class. I better go."

"I have class that way too," With one last look at Cody, Eve didn't even shed a smile. She wasn't in any mood to have to deal with him any further so she simply stated to him, "Bye Cody," and was off with the Miz, chatting it up.

Cody was left all alone. Now he was really scared because deep down inside, he felt as if he was losing the girl he was in love with. Could it be? Was he really losing Eve over all of this? Over something he did? He surely didn't want it all to end like this. He didn't want any of this to end, period.

* * *

Every employee at West Beverly would use there breaks to get one thing and one thing only – A cup of coffee. Torrie went into the packed lunchroom, some students were getting there lunch while some weren't exactly there to "eat lunch" but to cut their class. It was school policy that if you see it, you're supposed to tell them to go to their class. Torrie wasn't in the mood nor had any energy to tell these kids.

Once by the canteen, Torrie poured herself a cup of fresh coffee and soon applied the sugar and milk along with it. When she was reaching for a lid, another hand was coming that same way and they collided.

Slowly picking her head up, she sees who she has bumped into. AJ was standing right before her.

Her boyfriend, well probably ex-boyfriend at this point was standing right before her. To see the expression on his face really did hurt Torrie. She knew what she did was wrong but she was in a tough position and had basically completely forgotten about him and went onto John.

She couldn't decide if she should say something. It really was awkward enough and she was sure he didn't want to speak to her but what was pushing her to speak.

"AJ?"

Once she said that, he was met with an immediate glare. AJ was hurt. AJ was in pain. His heart had been taken on rollercoaster rides and he seriously has just had enough of it all. He wanted to be left alone and to just feel no more pain. First it was Christy and now it was Torrie. What else is going to happen with this?

"I don't think it's a good idea we should talk," It appeared to be his only answer before he took the coffee in his hand, "I'll see you around," And he quickly scattered away from the scene not wanting to see Torrie again. It was too hurtful to see her.

Torrie was left scorn. Right in his eyes, he could see all the pain he has caused him. It was all her fault and she didn't have anyone to blame.

Once she had acquired her coffee, Torrie was off to office to finish up some work before she had to leave to pick up the children from her parents. Once she opened her office, she discovered an oddly too familiar blonde sitting in her chair, fixing up her hair.

"Kelly, what did I say about sneaking into my office? You're going to get me into a lot of trouble if you keep pulling this crap off so please just send me a message and I'll let you in?"

"Relax Torrie," Kelly pulled herself off the chair and leaned onto her desk, "I just came to bother you."

"Don't you have a class now?"

She had to think quick on her toes and what better way to mooch to your sister, "Do you know how pretty you are in that black pencil skirt and white blouse? It's really looking good on you."

She didn't buy it. Torrie knows Kelly way too well about Kelly's slick little tricks since after all, she has pulled so many times, "Is it Mrs. Guerrero's class?"

"It's so boring," There was an emphasis on the boring part, "that I feel that she wants me and half the class to commit suicide. Would you like my brains to be splattered on the way because of a gun I decide to place to my head? I think not."

Torrie cracked open a laugh. Kelly was Torrie's little 'pick me up' type of girl. If Torrie needed cheering up, Kelly would do that and hit it right on the spot, "I can always count on you to cheer me up."

Her Torrie senses were tingling. Something was bothering her beautiful older sister and being the lovely sister she is, she was going to make Torrie spit it out, "So do you plan on telling me what's the matter with you today? You seem a bit upset."

_I suppose I should tell her._ "Well, this whole John and AJ ordeal. Neither one wants to talk to me nor have anything to do with me. I feel like such an idiot and such a horrible person to do something like this to both of them. There both so hurt."

John definitely took this hard. He expected to just return to his life with his family but obviously got a different treatment. Now, he upset. He's angry and it's all because of Torrie. He went as far as way possible as visiting his parents up in Boston for the time being just to get out. Apparently the whole Cena clan is against Torrie in the situation over her stupid lie.

"I saw AJ before – he's mad as hell and John is so mad he doesn't even want to be in the same time zone as me. He's in Boston for a couple of weeks and I worry that it might be permanent. This whole thing – my life – is a complete catastrophe and it's all my fault because I couldn't just say anything."

Torrie slumped into her seat and Kelly pulled a chair forward and sat before Torrie, "This isn't your fault so stop blaming yourself. John should understand what you went through while he was gone and AJ should understand how you felt about John. This is not your fault. You're going to fix this and you have to make a decision about them. I know you care so much for the both of them but Sis, you can't have your cake and eat it. Pick the one guy you really want and fix whatever happened."

AJ or John? AJ or John? It's like she's Bella trying to pick over the vampire Edward and the wolf Jacob. What was she going to do?

"I think I know who you want," Kelly told her sister giving her a stern look, trying to give away who she was speaking about.

With a simple nod, "I think so too."

* * *

Outside his home, Randy had just pulled into his driveway that afternoon. It was definitely another hectic day at work that involved plenty of hard work. Dealing with idiotic students was tough for the father of two.

Forgetting about his life at work, he thought of his life with his wife that wasn't going so smoothly. Their relationship was on a rocky set of roads and these roads seemed to keep going on and on. It was as if they were never ending.

It all started with Dawn. They were friends. Now with this whole Stacy thing falling apart, he had been getting closer to her because she would be able to listen to him and hear him through. Dawn was much more understanding. Stacy has gotten a bit of an eye and is noticing more. She actually believed that he was cheating but was not. Now, he made the deal not to speak with her but that was blown up.

Now he was really ignoring her – not even picking up a single phone call.

What was happening? Why was this happening? Everything was completely perfect and nothing everything is really going for worse. Nothing was making any damn sense in this picture. Fights emerged in the house and it used to be that he'd sleep on the couch two nights a week because of fighting. That's been bumped up to five nights.

Once he had exited his vehicle, his phone began to ring. There was no name and it had only said restricted. _Who could be calling me?_

"Hello?"

"I figured this would be the best way to get you on the phone to talk to you."

And behold, it was Dawn Marie on the telephone. Randy gritted his teeth together and let out a quick sigh. Before he could say anything, Dawn first said something, "And don't think about hanging up the phone. I'm just calling you to talk."

"Okay, so go ahead and talk. What is it?"

"How are you?"

"Could be better," It sounded sarcastic. Dawn very well knew what had been going on and she was just having her fun with this whole thing. Randy continued on, "How's life been for you?"

"Could be better you know," Her tone changed when she continued. It was much more jittery, "So does Stacy still think I'm cheating on you or does she think it's someone else?"

Randy has seriously had enough of all of this garbage. Enough was certainly enough, "She's doing great. Thanks for asking," He decided to play on her level as well when he asked a question, "So do you plan on telling her that we went out for lunch again when nothing really happened? Please tell me."

"Randy, you get so cute when you act mad. I kind of like it," And here she was playing the little game she plays, "Why can't we still hang out? Why can't we see each other? We would have so much fun."

Everything she asked, she knew the answer but she just wanted to hear it again and just to have her little fun but Randy didn't want anything to do with this anymore, "Listen Dawn, I have better things to do. Just leave me the hell alone and leave Stacy alone. End of discussion."

And only if Randy could see, the young woman looking through the open woman only to hear Dawn's name repeated – Stacy only heard certain parts and not the whole thing. But what she fit together was all bad and not what she wanted to hear.

Her heart was being broken.

"Goodbye Dawn," Randy shut his phone and in fact, turned it off. Upon walking up to the home, he opened the door and put a smile on. Honestly, he was done with Dawn. He had seen her true colors and wasn't going to let her continue her little games with him. He shut the door and called out, "Stacy, I'm home."

She emerged. Her eyes red from all the tears and her makeup smudge. Randy knew something was wrong and he came up to his wife, "Honey, is everything okay? You look really upset about something."

With her grim eyes, she looked up slowly and glared at him. Soon after the glare, Randy's face was met with Stacy's palm. Randy held his cheek and looked right back at Stacy who was back on the verge of crying, "I'm not upset. I'm furious."

"About what?"

"Let me give you a clue – Starts with a Dawn and end with a Marie. I heard you guys talking outside. I just don't get it Randy, it's like you want this to just crumble."

"No, it's not that. Stace, you've got to believe me," He was practically begging her to believe him. She heard the wrong things and now look what has happened, "Nothing had happened. She keeps calling me and she called me on a different number and I picked up."

Stacy has certainly had it up to here with all of this. Enough was enough. She wasn't no play toy that you just do whatever you want with. She was Stacy Orton, she was his wife and she deserved a hell of a lot better than what she's getting right now.

Randy was telling the truth and if Stacy didn't believe it, what was he supposed to do? He can't beg her because that doesn't work. Nothing is working. It's etched in her mind that Stacy's mind that she's right and he's wrong.

"So, how do we suppose we fix this whole mess?" Asked Randy.

"You know," Stacy said first before she recollected herself, "Honestly Randy, I sometimes just want to tell you that I just want a Divorce."

She mentioned it. She said that word that a husband or wife never wants to hear from there spouse but yes, she said it and she was really serious about it. The look in Stacy's eye just told him this was seriously. He didn't want this to end.

"Stacy we can't get divorced. I love you and you love me and we can get past this. It's just going to take some time."

Though it would be harsh, it was the truth and she was going to say it, "Randy, sometimes I find it hard to believe that I'm really in love with you. I've tried and I've worked myself to make this work and it's not. What we have is really dissipating."

"We can't get divorced. We can fix this," Randy tried some last minute pleading before she had come up with a decision about this, "Please Stace."

Stacy wasn't ready for any divorce. Deep inside, she wanted to give this all a chance and she not going to give up yet even though she really wanted too, "I'm not going to get a divorce because I do want this all to work for the sake of ourselves and for the sake of Emily and Connor. I don't want them having to go through with this so I want us to go to some marriage counseling. To figure out this problem and fix it – is that okay with you?"

With a nod, he agreed. Randy really wanted to fix this all. He loved Stacy with all of his heart and he didn't waste thirteen some years with her just to throw it all away. This was his love and it was where his heart was and he would do just about anything to keep this going. Not for him but for

* * *

Enjoying the beautiful fresh air of that early morning, Maryse was sitting out on her car taking in the beautiful and rare breeze in Beverly Hills. Normally, you get nothing like that in Beverly Hills but for a change it was nice. It had been the perfect pick up for the French beauty as she fixed her hair up.

Today was going to be a good day. Would you like to know why? Because Maryse was already looking at someone who always makes her days great – Ted Dibiase.

As Ted unloaded himself from his motorcycle, He looked directly at the blonde and smiled at her. Maryse's itty bitty heart just melted into a puddle. There was something about the man that Maryse just loved. Was it his badass and careless attitude? Was it his ruthless personality? Whatever it happened to be was just hooking Maryse further and further in like a fish from a pond.

Why was she being so worked up over a guy? She has had plenty of other boyfriends and crushed but there's something that this crush was different about. Ted had some sort of edge and hadn't yet even asked her anything about herself. Usually whoever Maryse likes, she gets the same treatment back but he wasn't. It was confusing.

Was she not doing what she does incorrectly? It bothered her because she really liked him, like no guy before. Never before has she felt like this and she couldn't even describe how badly she wanted this.

Just in time to scare her was Kelly, coming from behind and pushing her a little bit to scare her, "What are you looking at Frenchie?" And once Kelly notice she smiled, "Looking at Mr. Dibiase over there? Someone is in love."

Maryse just laughed it off, "I'm not in love."

"Yes you are. Look at the way you look at him. You keep staring, which makes it really obvious and it seems like your undressing him with your eyes. Take it down a notch Maryse, we're on school grounds and nothing like that is permitted here."

"Why hasn't he asked me out yet? He keeps giving me all these signs and it just tells me that he really likes me but I feel like he doesn't feel the same way or is just hiding it. He can tell me any time and he chooses not to. What the hell is wrong with guys these days?" Maryse proposed a question many girls asks themselves, "Is he oblivious to everything these days? Nothing makes sense."

"Just go talk with him. Tell him how you feel and see what happens. It's not going to be a big deal or anything and he may feel the same way."

Normally for Maryse, it was always the other way around. The guy was supposed to come to her and not the other way around. She makes the guys wait and not the other way around.

It was best to go with Kelly's advice at this time and just ask. Asking never hurt anyone, "I suppose I'll go talk with him," Maryse focused her eyes on him and she smiled, "Yeah I'm going to do it. I've got a man to hassel."

"Go Frenchie!"

Kelly gave her last words of encouragement and Maryse began to walk over to him. _Now how the hell do I approach this? Do I just say it straight forward? "Hey do you like me?" No, that sounds way too odd and straight forward. "I feel like you want me but you just don't want to say it." Oh god, I'm such an idiot. "You want to have sex with me? Just admit it because everyone does." Seriously, I have issues. Who in their right mind would even say that? Shut up! You're near him now! _

Before she could think anymore, she had already arrived to her destination: Ted DiBaise, "Hey!"

He looked over at her and smirked, "Maryse, what's up? I saw you having a staring contest with someone before. It looked like you were winning."

_Great, he's thinking I'm some sort of freak for staring at him. _"I wasn't having no staring contest. That's so silly," She laughed it off and pretend like it was nothing as her nerves were getting the best of her, "I was just stretching my eyes out. It's really good for you vision and all."

_Seriously? Stretching your eyes? Maryse, can you explain yourself? You seem to making an idiot out of yourself. You have to just tell him. Just tell him and get it all over with. _

"You were stretching your eyes out?" Nodding slowly and trying to understand this type of stretch, the brown haired boy cracked open a smile, "Okay, that's kind of interesting."

"Well, I came over here to talk to you about something," Maryse took a moment to breathe some fresh air as she looked directly at him, "I really have had fun with all the times we've hung out and spent time together. It's been a lot of fun. With all of this time, I think I may really like," She just could say it. It was too difficult and complicated. It was do or die but Maryse rather have died right now, "Your hair."

Of course this whole thing had mad absolutely no sense and Ted wasn't that stupid enough not to notice it. He offered a confused expression before he began to speak again, "You like my hair?"

_And Maryse Ouellet wins the award for the stupid comment to be said in the 21__st__ century. Seriously, that's what I come up with? I really do fit the blonde stereotype now._

"Yeah I really like it. I was thinking of getting something like that. I really think I could maybe really rock out that whole style. Don't you agree?"

All Ted could do was simply laugh at the young woman's antics. It was funny and he liked it about her, "I suppose you may 'rock out' the whole short hair thing. I'm sure you'd look great either way."

_Was it me or did he just compliment me? He said I would look good even if I did have short hair? Well, let's be realistic, that's a big no no. I love my hair but enough of that – he actually said something nice to me. I wish I could just jump up and down but I'd look like an idiot._

"Well, I got to go. I've got class," Ted began to walk away before he turned around and said one final goodbye, "See you later, Maryse."

And her heart just melted yet again and that must have not been the only thing to melt during the past few minutes.

* * *

Torrie had just prepared a very important email to send to either AJ or John. This letter would just tell that person a little basic summary of what's going on, what's about to happen and of course an apology for everything that was happened.

She brought in some help also known as her best friend – Stacy – to give her a hand in trying to fix and perfect this email she was just moments away from sending, "Okay Stacy, here it is. Tell me if you think it's good or not," Torrie asked as Stacy stood before the computer monitor, about to read the message.

_I know you don't have any words to share with me but please hear me out on this. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry with all the pain I've caused you. I'm the idiot that should have said something but I didn't when I should have. I hope that you can please forgive me for this. You don't know how amazing you are. Not just to me but to Ella and Nathan. They both love you so much. I can't go on any further like this. My heart is in a different place now and I can't be going back and forth and just making you think I want this to work but I can't. The time we had together was just amazing but it's time that we move forward and let the past be the past. You're an amazing person – trust me on that one and you deserve the best but it's not with me. I hope to see you soon one day and maybe through this all, we can still establish a friendship._

_Love,  
Torrie_

Stacy softly nodded as she stared at the computer screen about to critique the email, "Well, it's a nice email and it's just straight to the point and all. I think it's good and he's such a kind man that I'm sure he'll understand and be able to forgive you for all of this. I'm sure he will."

"You really think so?"

The mother of twins looked right at Torrie and smiled, "Yeah he will. He's too much of a nice guy to hold such a grudge against you. Just don't worry about it and send it."

Torrie sat back down in her seat and dragged the mouse over to the send button. Moments before she planned on going through with this all, she kind of froze. A part of her couldn't just do this to her but the other part kept telling her she had to. Torrie shut her eyes and clicked on the mouse and once she opened them, she saw that it read message sent.

"Well, there goes the easy part I guess," Said the guidance counselor, "You know it's funny – I'm the guidance counselor here and half the time I come to either you or Kelly for some guidance. Shouldn't it be the other way around?"

The leggy blonde had a laugh. Swinging her purse onto her shoulder, Stacy prepared for departure, "Okay, my work here is done. I've got to get to my mom's place to pick up the kids. I'll see you later."

"Thanks again Stace."

Before she reached for the door, she turned and smiled, "Your welcome," And she was out the door. She shut the door behind her and entered the not as usual clutter hallways of West Beverly. So many memories were made through these walls and most of them made Stacy smile.

Four years were spent here. So many bad memories but many were overshadowed by the good here.

One really bad memory was coming her way at the moment. The shorter individual with brown hair and a smirk right across her lips. It was Dawn Marie.

"Look who's here. It's none other than Stacy. How are you?" Dawn asked as she was getting closer to the blonde and stopped right before her, "I guess you're here to see Randy I suppose. He's down in the Teacher's lounge. I'll show you."

"No it's okay," Stacy told her, "I already saw him. I just came to give Torrie something and now I need to go get the kids from my parents."

Dawn was into playing her little games again. Oh how she loved to play these games, "Oh and don't worry. Randy and I didn't go out to lunch today nor yesterday or the day before that. We've been keeping our distance so you have nothing to worry about. You don't have to accuse him of cheating on you or anything. We aren't doing anything bad."

This had to be the day Dawn makes Stacy's blood boil. It really wasn't the time nor wasn't the place to start any of this crap and Stacy going to take it, "Listen, Dawn – it's time that you mind your own damn business and stop meddling into others. It's not your place to be invading my marriage. Just leave us alone. We don't need you so stop. Leave us alone."

"How am I even doing anything bad? I mean, I am just being Randy's friend. If you don't like woman being friends with your husband, maybe you should get rid of them. What about Torrie? She's friends with Randy and you don't think that they are cheating, am I right? So why me? Why am I the target?"

Stacy simply let her eyes roll and she walked away. She really wasn't into getting into an argument with Dawn at the time. Dawn knows what she was doing and she knew it was wrong. Stacy would have no more of it and refused to listen any further. As she went through the doors of the school, she really hoped that was the last she would see of Dawn.

Dawn stood there with a satisfied look on her face. What she wanted to happen was happening and it couldn't have been anymore well planned than it was right now.

_If it continues like this, Randy will be mine before I can even say divorce._

* * *

When he thought his life was bad enough at the moment, he was wrong. After this whole fiasco of his lie, Eve had apologized to the Miz and has apparently seen him in a different light, one Cody didn't see. They had been spending some time together and Eve had gotten to know the real Mike. Cody has failed to see that.

Along with Kelly and Evan, Eve was describing to the three of them about the day that she had with the Miz the other day and Kelly and Evan seemed interested but Cody was the one who really wanted to put a pistol to his head and call it a day.

"Like seriously, this guy is hysterical. He kept me laughing the whole time," The Latina was getting into detail about the different aspects of the Miz she really liked, "And he told me some of the funny stories I've ever heard. He has to be the funniest guy I've ever met."

The phrase sounded way too familiar to Cody Rhodes and Eve would tell that to him and it would make him feel special but not in this case. _I thought I was? I guess I'm not anymore._

"So I'm going to take a guess and say you had a good time?" Asked the sarcastic Kelly and Eve nodded in response to the question, "Well, as long as you had fun. I find it hard to believe the Miz is a changed man."

"I got to agree with Kelly on this one," Evan admitted, "I actually thought he was cold selfish ass but now he's a changed ass."

"Stop, he's not an ass," Eve brought up to his defense, "He's a really nice guy. It's just he's one of those people that you really need to sit down and get to know. You can't jump to conclusions about him like I did."

For the whole conversation, Cody didn't say a peep as the four sat on the steps in the hallway awaiting the bell to ring and Kelly took recognition to Cody. It was like she had telepathic powers and could notice something was bothering him but he wasn't saying anything. She could maybe see why he was upset but she would find out and of course just help out with the situation.

"Cody, don't we have to get to class? Mrs. Guerrero is going to kill us if we are late so don't you think we should get going?"

Cody nodded in response as he got up. Kelly gave Evan a quick kiss and smiled, "Don't do anything stupid in Mr. Cole's class like last time. He's going to fail you if you continue to just goof off like that. Do I make myself clear?"

It was as if Kelly was treating Evan like she was his mother and he was her son. Evan smirked, "Yes mother. I'll try too."

"Good," Kelly applied one more kiss on Evan's lips before she stood up.

Cody took a look at Eve as he rose from the steps and just gave Eve a blank stare as she did the same, "Bye Eve," Was also he said and in response, she received a wave.

Kelly and Cody walked down the hallway like conjoined twins. Kelly decided to stay really close to Cody and once they were far enough away from Eve and Evan, she began to speak, "Okay, so now you can tell me what's going on between you and Eve. It was so quiet and awkward between the two of you when she was talking."

"Did you hear who she kept talking about as if he was Jesus Christ himself? The Miz this, the Miz that. He's a changed person – bullshit! That's all lies and Eve is too stupid to see it. It just bugs me that she was hanging out with him."

"Do you have an idea why they hung out in the first place?"

He knew that he could trust Kelly so he decided to tell her the truth, "Well, you know that text that went around school that said the Miz attacked Eve. Well I sent it only because it made sense with the whole situation and the Miz kept bothering both of us and I wanted him to just leave us alone so I did it. I told Eve and she got upset. Miz was cleared that he didn't commit the crime and Eve felt so bad for what he went through that she promised to take him out and look what happens – they turn into the best of friends."

Kelly could sense the hurt through Cody's words and really felt bad for the football player, "I'm really sorry Cody. Before you know it, she'll forget about him and everything will be back to normal."

"No it won't. I know the Miz is lying. Do you honestly believe he is a changed person as she said?"

"Not really."

"I know that he's just getting into her mind and screwing around with her. He's trying to break us up and Eve is falling right into the trap. I don't get how she could be so naive and not notice it. What the hell am I going to do Kelly?"

Kelly thought for a moment and there was only one possible solution to this problem, "Cody you're going to have to talk to her. It's the only way. You need to make her listen to you and believe you."

"She'll never believe me. After I spread the rumor around, she won't believe me for anything and it's my entire fault."

It really had hurt Kelly to see her fallen friend this hurt. She hated seeing people in pain and especially if it was someone she really cared about, "You have to try Cody. I know you love her and you don't want to lose her so you have to try and repair this. Don't just give up easily."

"I guess I'm going to have to try," Cody told himself. He loved Eve and just wasn't going to let the Miz tear them apart. He had been through so much with Eve and to throw it all away like this was not the resolution he was looking for.

But the oddest thing was occurring to him at the moment. Speaking to Kelly got him to really just forget about Eve for the time being and really think about Kelly. It had to be the oddest thing. What was happening to him? _No, it's not that. It's definitely not that so don't worry but what if it is that? Great.

* * *

_

**A/N: **Chapter 18 is finished!  
I've been on a roll these past few days. 3 stories updated in 3 days? AMAZING!  
Well, look forward to it because i expect it to be continued.  
Please Review and vote on the poll!


	19. The Perfect Way

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Nineteen_ - The Perfect Way

As much as she hated chemistry, Eve had to sit through the forty five minutes of pain listening to a complete idiot named Mr. William Regal. If his accent didn't make it more confusing as it is, his speaking was just making it even worse.

If she had a pistol in her hand, this class would be over a lot sooner. For now, she had the company of a fellow classmate, the Miz, sitting in front of her making jokes in front of the class about Mr. Regal. It wouldn't take much longer for Mr. Regal to catch on to the young man's antics.

A small piece of paper, carefully wrapped up was tossed onto her desk. It had come from the Miz's hand. Anxious to see what was written inside, Eve didn't waste a moment and instantly opened it up to see the statement me prepared.

_Dad's friend is hosting this Designer's Party tonight over in Santa Monica. You down to go? Bring friends._

It was extremely nice of the larger individual to invite her to such an event. While living in Beverly Hills these past eight months has certainly been a large blessing. Never in this life had she thought she would have the chance to go to such extravagant events like these in her life. It was almost she was like a celebrity in her own little way.

Quickly with the pen, she wrote down her response. _Of course – I'd love to come. Just tell me the time and place and you bet I'll be there._

As she sent the note over and he read it, a smile appeared onto his lips with happiness. Soon afterward, the bell to class rung and it gave the okay for the duo to finally speak to each other – without it having to be on paper, written in pen.

"So you're down to go? That was a pretty quick response to my note. You didn't even question anything about it or ask who is going?"

Eve smirked curiously, "Okay, I'll ask them now. Who's this party for? Who's going to be there? Better late than never right?"

"Well, I invited a lot of kids from our class. Tyson, Nattie, Jack, You of course and anyone you would like to bring. I invited Rosa – oh and I also invited Maryse to come to. I think I told Alicia too," Miz strolled down the list and noticed Eve's frame freezing when he mentioned one of the names.

"Maryse is going to be there?" By the tone in her soft voice, anyone could tell she was a bit upset.

As anybody could see, Eve and Maryse weren't the best of friends at the moment. Rivals over jealously and stupidity; Eve and Maryse hadn't had contact with one another in a long time, avoiding one another at school and keeping clear of each other. No chance did she want to risk something and have some sort of altercation with Maryse.

As the duo exited the classroom, Miz reassured, "Listen, just avoid her like you've been doing for the past few months and you'll be fine. You've done it here and around town, so will it be much harder to just and you can bring your friends and Cody too."

Eve smiled and finally felt it was safe to go, "It should be fine plus I'll bring Cody, Kelly and Evan and it will be fine. You can definitely count me in on this tonight. A designer's party – who's the designer?"

"I don't even know. Just some guy from Italy I think. He's got some weird name but that's not important," Blabbed on the Miz before he carefully released a smile right at the gorgeous Latina, "I'll see you tonight."

As the Miz departed away from the scene, Eve thought of what a night it would be. All these opportunities were flooding away from her ever since she had stepped foot into this town. One of her invitees was walking down toward her and it happened to be Cody making her way toward the Latina.

Their relationship wasn't on the rocks but more like it's going through a tough patch that's taking a little more time than the either of them really expected.

Once he had approached her, it was immediately awkward and not even a kiss to greet her. That's how it was these past week. It was scary awkward before Eve decided to break the ice, "So – I have some news if you're interested."

"I'm interested."

"I got invited to some party tonight. It's in Santa Monica. I was hoping that maybe we could go. I was going to ask Kelly and Evan to come too. Would you want to come?"

Eve stood there and waited for an answer. Cody seemed to be wasting the time on the clock with his head titling over to the side before facing her again, "Yeah, I'd go."

Eve half smiled, "Good, I'll text you the details later. The Miz is going to send me the directions and time later today."

A topic he never really liked to speak about – the Miz. The mention of his name would just annoy Cody. Cody had seen this act the Miz has been putting up for the past few weeks and it's winning over Eve. It was fake. He was faker than a pair of boobs on a porn star.

"Oh I see that the new Pope is now extending invitations to you," Relating the Miz to a religious figure was one day to interpret how he has been acting, "I swear, does he plan on starting his own missionary group and head off to a third world country to help the poor?"

"Stop with the attitude Cody and just grow up," Snarled the Latina.

"Now tell me – I really want to know how the Miz went from being a totally asshole to becoming the second coming of Jesus Christ? I'd really like to know Eve since you've really gotten to know this side of him that nobody in this school sees but you."

He's attempt to get her even more angry than she is right now wasn't working. If she did decide to stay longer than yes, she probably would have blown up by now. Eve couldn't understand Cody's jealously and where this was all coming from.

"Listen, I never said you have to come. If you'd like to come and see Jesus, as you like to call him, than by all means come. I'm not on my knees begging for you to come. If you come, you come; If you don't come, you don't come."

It was a harsh ultimatum that she gave him before she dashed off to her next class but Cody choose to stand by his decision to bash the Miz hoping that maybe Eve would listen but nope. Her mind was pictured on this new and profound Miz.

* * *

The Peach Pit never heard so much chattering in this place – only when Maryse Ouellet entered the building. If there's someone that can talk, it's Maryse. Hour after hour, she'll still ramble on and today's victim had been Kelly Blank. Oddly enough, this victim was actually enjoying it because throughout the conversation, a laugh was being tossed around here and there making the conversation that much more fun. It was all tales of her wild relationship with Ted DiBiase.

Kelly was finding it hard to believe that Maryse could screw up that easily and misinterpret what she wanted to say. It was all too funny.

"So you're about to tell him that you like him, you chicken out and tell him that you really like his haircut and said that you could possible rock that hairstyle?" It was impossible to control herself so Kelly began to laugh hysterically. Maryse gave the blonde a stern look but That didn't stop Kelly, "That's too funny."

Maryse folded her arms while shooting a glare, "You don't know the position I was in. You don't know what I was thinking. I was in a really tough spot."

"But what made you say that in the first place? It was completely out of the ordinary and Bizarre. What were you thinking about?"

"Apparently his hair," Her eyes rolled over followed by a sigh, "But it's done and over with and I'm going to tell him. I'm really going to tell him and not going to pull a stunt like I did the time before. I'll look even more like an idiot than I previously portrayed before. I already know how I am going to tell him."

"How do you plan on doing that Maryse?"

With a grin sliding across her lips, Maryse came up with a time and place to just let everything out, "Miz invited me to that party tonight so I'm going to invite Ted and I'm going to tell him there. Let everything out and hopefully I'll be his girlfriend before the end of the night."

Kelly has been friends with Maryse for a few years, not including the time period they hadn't spoken but Kelly could still remember her previous boyfriends and how she really felt about them. Compared to the previous ones, Ted was certainly different. The man was driving her nuts – unlike the other guys she'd been with.

"You really like him don't cha?"

Adding the really part described how much Maryse really liked this guy. Never had she bent over backwards for a guy like this. Usually it's supposed to be the other way around. Maryse was supposed to making the guys want more but Ted was making her want more – a lot more.

"I really do and I when I say I really do, I really really do," She admitted, "He drives me crazy. He's giving me all these signs and I know he wants me really badly and I think he's just shy when it comes to asking so I'll just do it. I'll make it easier for him. Let me text him tonight about the party."

Maryse retrieved her cell phone and quickly wrote the message. _There's a party tonight over in Santa Monica. Would be even better if you showed up __ 107 Santa Monica Blvd 9 – Better see you there _

Not even a five seconds after sending it, he already responded. _I'll definitely be there if your there ;)_

"Oh my god! Oh my god! O M G!" Maryse even spelt out the acronyms used on the internet to describe how she was feeling at the very moment, "He winked! He sent me a wink. Ted DiBiase sent me a winky face."

"Okay.."

"Okay? Okay? This is not just okay Kelly Blank!" It didn't exactly plug in what Maryse was yelling all about but it must have been big – in her eyes atleast, "He sent me a wink. This only just adds on to everything. He said he will definitely be there if I'm there followed by a wink. Do you know what this means?"

"Uh, no," Answered Kelly.

"He likes me! He actually really likes me because why else would he send me a wink at the end of the message? There's only one obvious answer to this all. He likes me," Taking in all of the joy and happiness over this discovered, she smiled a smile that she wish would never go away, "This will only make tonight even easier."

"I really hope this all works out for you tonight and please don't mention anything about his hair at all tonight. You'll have a repeat of last week so watch what you say. Make it sound smart."

The platinum blonde mimicked the shorter blonde's laugh before she stood up before the table, "I need to go. I have to find a sexy but not too slutty dress but classy but not saying that I'm an easy girl that you get into bed quickly, though if it was him, I wouldn't say no for sure. In fact, I would –"

Kelly ended yet another too deeply thought about phrase from Maryse, "Go Maryse! That dress isn't going to be found on its own," And once Maryse stopped, She raced out of the peach pit to find a dress she could wear tonight.

As for Kelly, she wasn't that excited for tonight but since she has nothing better to do, she decided to hope on board. It then just reminded her that she has to ask Evan if he plans on coming. It was in that very moment of when he thought about him and she heard a loud groan from a back booth. Turning over, Kelly couldn't see the individual before she stood up to see the larger man. It was Evan and a pile of books laying at his side with the words Student Aptitude Test also known as the SAT, written across the covers.

"Killing yourself over that?" Said the blonde as she went over to the brown haired boy who looked up.

"Well, it is tomorrow my test and I want to get into a good school. I want to go to USC and I need a really good score if I want to get in there. I've been busting my ass all week and I can't get anything into my head."

Evan was definitely a dedicated student and with the SAT's around the corner for him, it was only applying more pressure onto him. He had big dreams and it would lead him to USC – where he's dying to go.

"I hate tests like these. There such a pain," Kelly scooted over in the booth beside him as she glanced at the problems before him. It was the most confusing thing she'd ever seen, "What the hell? Find the square root of pie in the Gaussian method? What the hell is this?"

"I've been asking myself that since about two in the afternoon when I opened up the Devil's book. I swear, I'm seconds away from setting this book on fire. If I need to go to take this test to go to college and get a job, I'm going to fail and go to a miserable college and probably work as a waiter in some stupid diner like this one."

His offensive comment had a bit of a wrong timing as one waiter, much older than the two of them, walked by and heard it. He stared at the two and grilled Evan with his eyes.

"Well, I don't think I'll be eating the eggs I've ordered. I like salt on them – not salvia."

"I really know how you feel. When I took them in February, I nearly killed myself. I wanted to put a gun to my head and call it a day but I didn't. I actually took some time and refrained myself from killing myself and I did well. I got a score good enough to get me to USC so I'm all set."

She was lucky she didn't have to worry any longer but it was much different for Evan. He had always strived for perfection and if he didn't do perfect or close to it, he'd punish himself for it, "You're lucky that it's all over for you."

"I'm guessing you're not going to come tonight to the party, right?"

"Nope – I want to do some last minute studying because if I do bad, I'll never forgive myself for giving up like that."

Dedication was a strong value that Kelly loved about Evan. He stayed true to himself no matter how difficult the situation was and she loved that. Placing a kiss on his cheek, she grazed her fingers down his cheek and smile, "If you get really stressed out, come to the party for a little to let some stress out, okay?"

He nodded, "That's if I ever make it to the party. This test will kill me before that."

* * *

She wasn't no arm candy tonight. Eve stepped into the club without Cody. In a blue dress and knee high boots, Eve was looking exceptional tonight with her choice of attire. As soon as she had walked in, she could see some eyes giving her a little look – which she liked – a several other bodies of people communicating with one another.

It was a lavish event fit for a celebrity. It wouldn't be surprising to her if one of them just popped up out of nowhere since after she's in Los Angeles. Heck, sometimes she shops with Reese Witherspoon and Kate Winslet and it was a normal thing.

Heading deep into the center of the party, Eve was succumb to the DJ playing 'OMG' by Usher and couldn't help but bop her head side to side lightly. Once making It across the dance floor, she could hear someone calling her name. Once she turned around, she saw the Miz running up before here.

Catching his breath in that moment, he smiled – only because she really showed up, "Glad you can make it. I knew you would have showed up."

"Of course I would show up. How in the hell could I miss something like this?" Eve's eyes glazed up around the decorated room with the orbs of light hitting the room, "I actually feel like I'm a celebrity."

"Well you're amongst them. Katy Perry is somewhere around here and I think i Ashton Kutcher is somewhere around here. The Valet said they took his car about ten minutes ago so he should be hiding somewhere around here," As one of the waitresses passed by with a platter of champagne, Miz took two and offered one to the blonde, "Here take a drink and enjoy the party."

"I definitely will."

"So… Where's Cody? Is he going to come tonight or not? I'd expect to see him with you but I guess that's not the case. Where is he?"

The topic of Cody didn't bother the Latina but she just didn't really want to talk about him. Lately, the way he has been acting has bothered her and knowing that he spread a rumor and blamed it on her hurt her even more. Their relationship wasn't at its best at the moment and she doesn't know what was going on but she did know that everything would be fine after a little while.

"I don't know if he is coming yet but he said he would let me know. He had to take care of some things so we'll see," Eve told him, "But right now, I really don't care because look where I am. I just want to have some fun you know."

"Once you party with a Miz, you won't want to party with anyone else – I guarantee you that. Tonight is going to be one of the best nights of your life."

If only Eve knew the true intentions of tonight. It had nothing to do with socializing with celebrities and throwing this wild party. It all had to do with making his move on Eve tonight and so far everything was perfect. Nothing could run whatever he was planning. Everything was going the way it should have and soon, his time would come.

"How do you know this is going to be the best night of my life?"

"You'll see Eve. I'll definitely show you."

* * *

As the music was blasting, Maryse lost herself into the music. Once one of her favorite songs was playing she started to dance and didn't care who was watching. With a drink in one hand, she was just enjoying herself. She'd sip, dance, than sip again and go back to dancing. Wearing the short strapless black dress with silver beads tracing down the center and silver pumps, it was a bit difficult to dance but she made the best out of a bad situation.

Once she had opened her eyes, she saw something she certainly didn't want to see or hear. Eve was standing in front of here.

Maryse froze and rolled her eyes, "Well, if it isn't the skank. I didn't know they would let you dressed like that into a place where you should be dressed like this," Maryse pointed out her outfit to the Latina, "Dress to impress baby."

Eve softly smiled, "Yeah, even though I didn't dress like a complete whore, they still let me in. But thanks for the information; next party I'll try and take some of your tips and slut up my outfit."

Confidently, Eve walked away from the dance floor and away from Maryse. Maryse didn't appreciate the insult much but quickly shrugged it away and started back at dancing.

One watchful looker caught their eyes onto the blonde. Walking toward the direction of the blonde, Maryse wasn't aware of his presence until he leaned up against the bar in front of her and watched the blonde go at it. She swerved her hips from side to side and the music continued to play.

The one individual watching her smiled at the image of her dancing proactively and he went over and whispered into her ear, "Look who's good on their feet."

She had slightly turned her head to face the individual who whispered into her ear. Gradually, a smile appeared across her rosy smooth lips when her eyes met the individual who was speaking to her, "I thought you weren't going to show up."

Striking her with his sea blue eyes, her heart began to melt away like all of the other times she had seen him, "Yeah I was a little late but I still decided to show up – check out what's happening over here."

It was a good moment to just pull him away to speak with him but she didn't know if she should. Eventually, she had to get this out of her system. Her feelings held deep inside were going to reveal themselves and now would be the time to do so.

"Can we talk? Like somewhere a little more private than this?"

Ted nodded. Maryse guided him to a more quiet part of the club where they were surrounded by couches and other people socializing. Now, it was quiet empty and it made it easier for her to just tell him how she feels. Seating on the couch, Maryse crossed her legs up and looked back up at the individual before her, "I was hoping that maybe we could talk. There's something I should tell you."

"I'm listening; what do you have to tell me?"

_This is really it Maryse. It is now or never. Just tell him how you feel and this will all be over. Say those three little words and this will be over and done with and just maybe you two can be together… but what if he doesn't feel the same way? I'm going to feel like an complete idiot and I'll have my heart broken into pieces. Why must life be so difficult?_

"What I want to tell you is that," A rumble of loud music began to pass through the area just when Maryse said, "Ted, I like you. I really like you."

They didn't exchange any words after that. It stood like this for a few moments, just the two of them staring into each other's orbs as the music continued to play. Nothing was being said and Maryse was getting really worried.

"Ted, did you hear me?"

He had yet to say anything and continued to stare. Only his eyes were going to something else other than Maryse. Maryse turned over to see what he was examining and when he turned around, he could see the beautiful woman before him.

Immediately, she thought the worse. _Oh god, he has a girlfriend? You've got to be kidding me!_

Ted walked over to the redhead and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and the two instantly hug. Maryse's heart was just breaking off into pieces after this. Her chance with Ted was done and over with. He had somebody else.

After the two had embraced, Ted turned over and faced Maryse, who looked to be on the verge of tears, "Maryse, this is my cousin Janet."

_Oh thank god – it's only his cousin. Close call._

"Oh, you're cousin," And here she thought that was his girlfriend or something. It was a close one but she is happy to hear that he's still on the market, "I thought that was your girlfriend or something."

"No, it's just my cousin from San Diego," Ted was ecstatic to see the individual, "Do you mind if I just talk to her for a second and you can tell me what you wanted before?"

Maryse nodded. Girlfriend or not, it was yet another failed attempt to tell Ted how she felt but third time's a charm, right?

* * *

"She still is falling for the whole thing, dude. She doesn't have an idea at all what I'm planning for tonight."

The person mumbled something back to him on the phone and he just laughed, "Yeah, I'll probably get her to hit the sheets with me. Her loser boyfriend couldn't pull a move on her but I can. You'll see Zack."

And the person responded and he smiled, "I'm going to get lucky tonight. Those two are like seconds from breaking up and she thinks I'm a changed person so you'll see. I'm going to get Eve Torres tonight."

He shut his phone off. The Miz did not have any good intentions for tonight concerning Eve Torres. It only had to do with getting a shot with her. He hadn't really changed. It was all an act – a brilliant one as of matter of fact.

This whole party would be a perfect chance to finally make Eve Torres another check on his checklist of woman he has been with. He scattered away from the scene and returned to the party but wasn't aware someone was watching and listening to everything he just said. It was certainly the wrong person to hear this all tonight.

The individual who had heard everything rushed off into the crowd of people in search of Eve. Once he had found her, he grabbed her by her arm from the back, whispered in her ear, "I need to talk to you now," and he guided her through the back door of the club into the empty alleyway. She was definitely surprised to see him, of all people here talking to her since she knew how he felt about a certain person here.

Eve focused her eyes onto the blue eyed boy, "What is it Cody? What do you have to talk to me about right now?"

Cody obviously didn't have a specific way to just tell her this. It wasn't going to be easy. Telling her all of this would be difficult as Eve hadn't heard him through the past week or so. Their relationship at the moment wasn't at its best stage.

"You have to believe me when I tell you this, okay? You have to believe me when I tell you that," One quick deep breath and he spoke, "The Miz is liar. He hasn't really changed at all. He's still the same asshole we've known. He's just putting this whole act together just so he could have a shot at you."

Eve folded her arms. Her teeth bit down on her lip, imprinting on her red lips before she could look Cody, "Stop lying Cody, just stop! I'm sick of you feeding me these lies about him. He didn't do anything. He's a good person and he's changed so could you stop saying all of these things about him. Just stop."

He really felt as if he lost her and her trust. She couldn't even find it in her heart to believe him. _I can't believe all of this. This really can't be happening. _Cody stood silent before he could manage to look Eve in the eyes.

"Why don't you believe me? Can't you find it in your heart to believe what I'm telling you? I'm your boyfriend and you believe some idiot over me."

"That idiot is my friend," The Latina was really getting upset over this whole Miz thing and it was just getting annoying for her, "Listen, I know why. It's because I've been spending a little more time with him. He's just my friend and nothing else."

"Well, I worry that's not really the case."

"So you think that I'm cheating on you or something? I would never do that to you, Cody. I know better than that."

"It's not that I think your cheating. It's just I know he has some intentions to hurt us. He wants to destroy our relationship and you know; he's getting his wish so far."

Eve really had it up to here with all of this. The lying and the false accusations; it was all of Cody's jealously toward their new found friendship and Cody's hatred toward the Miz. Eve looked Cody right in the eyes and she didn't want to believe it, "You know, I don't want to believe it but it just makes so much sense."

It was the same words that Cody told her when he spread the text message all around school; that the whole situation had made so much sense so it had to be that. Eve was done. She didn't want to deal with Cody at the moment and she wanted to return to the party, "I'm going to go back to the Party."

Cody sat up against the wall with his head down and could hear Eve's heels clamping their way down the alleyway. The door opened and she had disappeared into the club again, leaving Cody all alone. The door reopened again but this time someone else had appeared. Kelly saw the emotionally wounded Cody and walked over to him.

"Cody, is everything okay?"

He didn't answer. All he could think about is how his relationship was being burned up into a crisp over something so stupid like this. Kelly stood before the guy and patted his back, "Did something happen between you and Eve? I just saw her get back inside looking really upset."

He stood up straight and look right at the blonde and posed a blank look, "We aren't exactly doing that good and It's all because of the Miz. It's his entire fault that this thing happened."

"What happened?"

Cody only could come to one conclusion on how to dissolve the issue once and for all. He wanted to put himself out of this pain that he has been feeling and conclude this mess. He knew what he had to do but it wouldn't be easy like this, "I know what I have to do…."

And Cody walked back into the club, to figure everything out while Kelly was left there to think. A feeling in her rose and she had an idea of what could have happened but that was quickly dispersed when she saw someone she didn't expect to come here. Evan was here.

"Oh my god," She ran up to him, planted a kiss on his lips and just embraced him. While she held him, she just felt like she was extremely lucky to have a healthy relationship with someone she cared about so much. Evan was the greatest and she was happy to have the greatest in the world. Never had she felt like this and what made her feel even more like this was the relationships around her that were crumbling but yet there's stood strong.

While in a deep embrace, Kelly whispered into his ear, "I love you Evan.

And right back to her he said, "I love you too Kelly.

* * *

Above the whole club, there was a special room overlooking the club, directly above the DJ booth. It was a private room, complete with bar and a comfortable lounge. Could it get any more Hollywood than this right now?

Someone else was really taking her to this spot and it wasn't who it should have been. It was Michael 'The Miz' Mizanin escorting her to this room. As the door shut, Miz took this opportunity to lock it shut. _You're not going anywhere Eve._

Eve sat on the black leather couch right by the bar. Miz prepared two drinks for himself and her and brought it to the couch, offering one to the brunette and the other for himself, "Miss Torres, the drinks are on the house for tonight so no need to worry. It will all be taken care of."

Through the red little straw, Eve took in the drink and could taste more alcohol than anything. After one sip, she already put it down on the table before her and looked up at the Miz, "Thanks again for inviting me to this party. I haven't had this much fun in a really long time."

He didn't want to be nosy but he still did want to be nosy. Eve and Cody weren't doing well and he knew it. He just wanted to hear a little more detail than what was already known so he could just borough his way into the little Latina's mind.

"I don't want to be nosy or anything but how are you and Cody?" Asked the Miz, "You two seem a little distant."

Was she making it that obvious that Cody and herself weren't doing that well as of lately? Her relationship with Cody was her business unless she decides to speak to it about to somebody. People like Kelly would know this but was it right to tell the Miz some business that he really shouldn't know? She supposed so.

Slightly turning her cheek to him and raking her hair behind her cheek, she began to speak, "It's not that were doing bad but I think we are just aren't the same. It's like a bit of a rough patch; that's what we are going through and we'll get through it. It will just take some time."

"Cody is really lucky to have a girl like you. I don't think I've met such a girl like you before who once hated my guts but is now such a close friend to me," Miz stepped even closer, "I think I wished I was Cody sometimes."

It sounded sweet but suspicious – something was fishy about this all.

Miz's hand slowly crawled onto Eve's lap and he turned his cheek, "Or maybe," His hand was traveling up her leg and to her waist and soon afterward, Miz pushed his way through and took his lips, pressing them onto the Latina's.

Eve didn't know what to do. She didn't stop the kiss and obviously he wasn't going to. It didn't feel right but she continued. She didn't stop until a face in her mind flashed right before her. An image of Cody was embedded into her mind and that's when she stopped what she was doing. _What the hell am I doing? I shouldn't be doing this. What is wrong with me?_

"I can't do this. This is wrong and I just can't… I can't," Eve told the Miz while in the midst of a complete freak out. Her words came stuttering inside – that's how bad she felt, "I can't. I just can't."

"If you say this is wrong, why does it feel so right?"

"It's not right and it doesn't feel right Miz. Kissing you doesn't feel right. None of this is right," With her hands, she maneuvered them before herself to explain herself further, "This wasn't right and it should have never happened. I don't even like you like that."

It really did anger him that even though she has a rift in her relationship, she still thinks this is wrong and being with him is the right thing to do.

"I can't believe you. Your boyfriend started a sick rumor about you and you still want to be with that pathetic loser. I can't believe this shit. He not only hurt me but he hurt you but yet you still love him. I don't get this. I've done everything I could to peel you two apart and now it finally got you two apart but you still want him."

And right there it all completely plugged in. Cody was telling the truth. The Miz is still the same guy he's always been. He hadn't really changed and he had different intentions other than trying to be her friend. It bothered her even more that she actually believed the Miz over her own boyfriend. This had to be fixed before this is damaged any further than it is right now. Now, all she thought about was Cody.

"You're an asshole Miz, perhaps the biggest one I've ever met," Growled the Latina, "I've got to go. I have to talk to Cody."

"Eve wait!" The latina didn't waste any time and she went for the door that led back downstairs, leaving the Miz a bit lonely but he definitely deserved that.

This was all her fault. This was brought upon herself just because she believed the Miz over Cody, after the situation they had gotten themselves into. Cody was telling the truth but her mind believed something else in exchange. What was wrong with her? Why did this whole thing make her believe a goofball like Miz over her boyfriend who had stayed there by her side through so much? This must be fixed.

Rushing through the club, Cody couldn't be found. She checked the bar and he wasn't there. She checked the dance floor and no sign of him. She check the lounge and he wasn't anywhere around them. She came across a group of individuals and asked if they had seen a guy she described go by and one said that he had seen him head up a flight of stairs up there.

Eve discovered the stairs and it lead to the rooftop of the building. Eve climbed up the stairs and just kept thinking of the best way to apologize for all of this. How to say she was sorry for believing someone else over her own boyfriend?

Once making it to the peak of the stairs, she looked out through the door she came from and could see an individual staring out onto the streets of Santa Monica. It was Cody standing there with his hands in his pocket, staring out.

From behind, she started to walk slowly behind him and called out his name, "Cody!"

In response, Cody turned around and Eve walked up closer to him. She crossed her arms to create a defense to block away the cool wind coming by them. Once close enough, she gave him a hug and held him tightly. While by his ear, she began to apologize, "I'm so sorry for not believing you. I should have listened to you and I'm so sorry."

She pulled herself away from him and stared into his cold blue eyes before she started again, "Can you please forgive me for what I did? I don't know what I was thinking when I listened to him. Please forgive me."

Cody stood as still as a rock until his mouth began to move, "Honestly, I don't know how you could believe him. You believed him over your own boyfriend. Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"I know Cody. I do know – I'd feel the same way. What I did was completely wrong and I should have never done that to you. I was an idiot for listening to the Miz. He's a total jerk and I know now that I should have listened to you."

"But it's not even all of that Eve. You didn't even trust me and now you don't even trust me. How could a relationship work if one doesn't trust the other? I know when I sent out that text, I felt so bad. I knew this was wrong but it wasn't to even hurt you – it was too hurt the Miz for what he's been doing to us even if he wasn't the guy who really did it. I asked for forgiveness and for us to work this out but you went on with him – that total loser and he turned into your best friend."

"No I didn't," She tried to deny but it was practically true. The two were inseparable, "But I did make time. I really did."

"Not even once Eve. Everything was Miz this, Miz that! It sounded more like he was your boyfriend and I was a piece of garbage on the side rotting. Afterschool, you were with him. At the Mall, he was with you. Our Lunch, which use to be just us two, would turn into a three way and I would basically be pushed to the side – completely isolated from you both. I felt so disconnected."

"I know what I was doing was wrong. I knew it but.."

"But why did you let it continue? You saw me; I was like a zombie walking around because I had never been so upset in my life over things like this. I don't get it Eve – what did you want? Was this a punishment about what I did? This is punishment enough."

Everything that had been happening was all due to isolation and ignorance. Eve had made him feel like a total ass, "I know what I did and I want to make up for it. I want to forget about this all and just move on. To hell with the rumor, to hell with the Miz – I just want us to work."

These grim words were going to come out sooner or later but Cody decided to let her have it, "There's no chance for this to work. I'm sorry but this can't work. Too many problems, too many issues and I honestly don't want to deal with it all. I just think it's better that we.."

"Break up?"

She finished the sentence for him. Cody and her stood at a cold standstill looking at one another. Eve's eyes formed tears and came crashing down her cheek as Cody was going to finish his sentence, "Yes, break up. I think it's better that we maybe end this now before anyone else gets hurt. You and I have been hurt way too much and it's time that it ends."

Her world was just crashing down into pieces. It was over. This was all over. Her heart that would beat fast every time she sees him was crumbling now. So much was put at stake for him and now it was coming to an end all because of things that could have been avoided on both their parts.

Cody was definitely hurt but the only way to eliminate the pain was to eliminate where the pain was emanating from and it was coming from Eve. For weeks, Eve held the grudge and gotten closer to the Miz, pushing him away and making him feel like he was nothing. Now it's over and it's time just to start fresh and to look toward what the future holds. Eve wasn't in the picture any longer.

"So this is it?" She asked one more time, "This is the end of Cody and Eve I suppose, the great tragic love," Her voice was raspy and her eyes were much more redder due to all the tears, "I can't believe this is all ending like this."

"All good things come to an end, I suppose," Their bodies were closer to each other. Minimal distance lay between than lips. Eyes staring into one another as Cody's smooth hands grasped her cheek, holding her, "Everything we had together was amazing. I never loved a girl like I did you. There's always going to be a part of you in my heart and I don't want you to ever forget that. I love you and I will always but this needs to happen – for the sake of us both."

And to end this all, he wanted to leave a lasting impression on her. Shutting their eyes, their lips collided with one another. Their last kiss reminded each other of why they fell in love in the first place. Cody could picture the first moment the two had ever met and Eve's mind drew an image of her and Cody's dance at homecoming.

Pulling way, Cody took a hold of her hands, kissed them and placed them back down, walking away from the brunette, departing the roof.

Eve stood in position, staring out into the city of Los Angeles and took in a deep breath. What she had with Cody, she will never be able to share something like that with anybody else. Their special bond would remain theirs. This had to be done, just like he said – for the sake of them. One last kiss did it all for the latina. It was the perfect way to end the perfect relationship.

* * *

**A/N:** Finally, another chapter complete!  
Is this really the end of Evedy? Well, for the time being - yes it is BUT i've still got a long way to go so there's a chance they'll reappear.  
Maryse fails again, poor girl but she'll get closer.  
As for the attacker, he/she will be back and be revealed soon! Any guesses who it could be?  
Thanks for reading and please review. Any TERYSE fans, please read/review You Lost Me.


	20. Please Don't Say

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty_ - Please Don't Say

Recovery on any part of your body is a difficult and long process. Only when the damage was done onto your heart – is where it's the hardest to mend.

When people are placed into a situation like this, they take their time and try to figure out the best way possible to heal the hole that lay on their heart. It could take a few minutes, a few hours, a day or two and possibly even months but eventually you know you'll get through this tough portion of your life – only to encounter more on the road we call life.

But you remind yourself that only this can make you stronger. This is a lesson; a lesson in discovering yourself and learning about what you want in the future. It designs the relationship you look for in the future and if you want that one, you'll get it – you're just going to have to look a little deeper.

The Denver native turned Beverly Hills native just learned that lesson. She loved Cody. Never had a guy treat her the way he did, never had a guy been so sweet and never had a guy been like him. Something special lurked inside his heart and lucky for her, she got to see that but now with him in his past, Eve looked forward to moving onto a bright future.

Cody was only a stepping stone in her life and you can't be on a stepping stone for too long or it will sink. You move onto the next and from there you see if you'll sink or swim. If you swim, enjoy it; if you sink, just keep moving on.

The student body wasn't too behind to realize that the golden couple had ended their golden relationship to move onto other things. Girls would gossip and rumors would soon spread that the reason they broke up was because Eve did this or Cody did this. Eve wasn't going to let any of this bother her when she walked through the doors – but that's easier said than done.

Because it already began to bother her right when she was standing outside of the school.

It wasn't that she was upset over the break up. She still was but it sunk in. It was just her classmates that really worried her. West Beverly worried her.

Her two feet planted right before the steps of the school and she glanced up. The break up was tough and dealing with her classmates would be even more difficult than it she had thought it would be. Cody had been through something similar to this before she he didn't have a problem but Eve on the other hand did.

A mere ten feet away from the brunette stood an ex-girlfriend of Cody's. One who had to deal with what Eve had just went through only a couple of months ago. Maryse actually felt a change of heart coming for her. Eve and herself had several miscommunications in the past of jealously and boys and it lead nowhere except to trash talking one another when they had the chance but that was it. To see the wounded Latina, Maryse _actually_ felt bad for the young woman. To go through something like this was difficult and Maryse could see what was troubling the brunette as she stood outside the school.

About to do something she'd never do for anyone, Maryse decided to talk to the brunette for a moment; to see how she was coping with everything and what was really bothering her on the inside.

Once close enough to the silky brown haired female, Maryse extended her hand and tapped the young woman on her shoulder. In response, Eve turned around and was surprised to see Maryse standing right before her. Her facial expression turned from being upset to being furious.

"Have you come to bother me once again? What do you plan on saying to me now because you should say it now before I have to deal with the rest of these people," Eve sternly answered to the blonde.

"I haven't come to do anything like that. If I was going to do that, I would certainly be one heartless bitch, don't you think?" She tries to convince that she's serious, "I know what you're going through right now."

With a confusion misted on her face, Eve responded with denial, "I have no idea what you're talking about. You probably have something mixed up or something. Nothing's bothering me at all. I'm fine."

"Are you really fine?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine. F – I – N – E. Do I have to say it in French or something? Quickly uttering out the words, Eve could feel the tears about to crawl out of her eye sockets and right before she could do that, she admitted, "No, I'm not fine."

Eve collapsed onto the stone bench with her hands smashed up against her face. Maryse, surprisingly soon joined her on the bench, trying to console her anyway possible. Gently with her hand, she'd rub up and down her back with hopes that it does provide so sort of relief for the scarred girl.

"I'm not fine. I'm nowhere near fine. I've just lost my boyfriend, had to go through that for the past few days and I have to go through this school, trying to keep a straight face about it all and have to somehow deal with the people inside of this place. There all going to talk and before I know it, I'll be the talk of every classroom."

In agreement, Maryse nodded, "I know exactly how you feel. This happened to me after Cody, after Hamilton and after Scott," A referral to her past boyfriends was made, "Every girl and guy would talk about it. They'd say some of the nastiest things I've ever heard. I did this to him and he did this to me. It was all lies. People only make stupid things up because they have nothing to do in their pointless and boring lives so they look to makes other people's lives miserable."

"So what do you advise me to do? I don't exactly have a slightest idea what I should do."

"There are so many different things you can do. Embrace it, don't let anyone see you hurt because they win every time they see you hurt. When Cody and I broke up, people talked and gossiped, I walked down the hallway with my head held high and I smiled. No one is going to see me upset. It's the other way I around. I'm the girl who ruins lives and I'm not going to have some stupid bitch ruin mine because I'm Maryse. "

Through the tears and sadness, Eve managed to crack a smile open and it felt good. Maryse was right. You've just got to embrace this all. When the strong see you weak, you're giving them what they want and with your head held tall and a smile on your face, you're winning the battle and there losing.

Eve's frown quickly made a three hundred and sixty degree turn and formed a smile. Who knew that Maryse could make Eve smile ever again?

Eve's head lowered down but Maryse pushed it back up immediately, "I said you have to keep your head held up high. I don't want to see it down like before so keep this head held high and a smile across your face and you'll get through this all."

"Thanks."

"I'm always here to help out a friend."

Surprised? Yes. Maryse just referred to Eve as her friend. Had this blonde had a change in her heart? Had she forgotten the past and moved on from that? It had appeared so and it made Eve happy to hear that the past was going to be the past and the future would be much different.

"So the whole past – What had happened and all? It's all –"

"Forgiven and forgotten," Calmly she smiled and winked at the blonde, "Now, if you're ready – the door's over there. Head in there and embrace it. Don't let anyone, for the exception of myself since I helped, see you upset. Got it Eve?"

With a firm nod, she did something she thought she'd never do before, especially to this individual. Eve wrapped her arms around the French beauty in hugging form and she whispered into her ear, "Thank you Maryse."

And she could let go the French beauty and prepare herself for what lied behind the doors of the school. Whatever it was, she was going to embrace it. No one would see her upset. No one was going to win – except for her.

* * *

To pass the time, she could have studied, done some homework or maybe read a book she had to read for English class but choosing not to do that, her makeup seemed to much more of a serious situation than anything else. Her eyeliner was smudged and it must be repaired before any further damage is acquired.

After making amends with Eve earlier, Maryse actually felt much better inside. Something inside of her felt like she did a good thing – something she normally never does but today she did have a change of heart.

Time to release the past and let the past be the past and look out into the brighter future. It's not worth fighting for something in the past when you're heading for the future.

As for her problem, Maryse could see him at the corner of his eye sitting beside his motorcycle. Ted DiBiase lay before his bike and Maryse couldn't help but stare. He wasn't noticing.

All this she wanted to know was if Ted felt the same way for her as she feels for him. The question wasn't difficult to answer. It was quiet simple. The only aspect not simple about this all was how to explain to him how she felt hoping that maybe he'd feel the same way. It was complicated – Oddly complicated and being stalled for much too long.

Somehow, there must be a way to figure out this answer. Much to her pleasure, she might have found the key to unlock the answer she's been looking for.

"Cody!" Called out Maryse to the young football player who was passing beside the blonde and his attention was caught when he went up to him, "Just the guy I was looking for – I need you to do me a favor. It will only take a minute."

"What do you need from me?"

"Well," Said Maryse in a sweeter than usual tone, "So that guy over there, leaning against the motorcycle, Ted – Well, I need you to ask him if he likes me."

Cody caught a glimpse and was reminded of how much of a jerk he was. Cody cleared his throat quickly before speaking yet again, "That douchebag? I'm not going to go talk to him. He's just a jerk, Maryse."

"Yeah, I jerk that is driving me crazy – in a good way though. For once, I really like this guy and he's complicated so I can't figure out if he likes me too so can you just go talk to him, be guy-like and ask him 'Hey do you like Maryse?' and get the answer and bring it over to me?"

Previous encounters with Ted weren't much successful for Cody. They both are members of the football team and basically dislike one another – well, Cody dislikes him and Ted just acts like a total asshole.

"I already know him. Maryse, he's an ass. I'm on the football team with him and he's just some idiot loser. Don't waste your time."

"Well, I've already wasted plenty of time so if you could walk over there and ask him, I'd feel a lot better!" No wasn't being taken for an answer today and the pressure was being applied, "You owe me – you cheated on me and went out with one of my friends. If you do this for me, all of that will be forgiven."

Did he have much of a choice? The pressure worked. Eventually he agreed. Radiance emerged from her smile, "Thank you Cody! Now, go over there and ask him but don't make me sound to desperate but not like a bitch or as if I'm some whore or –"

"Maryse, just shut up and relax."

Cody looked at the plus side of this whole ordeal. At least he could listen to someone else besides Maryse's chattering. Once close enough to Ted, he greeted him, "Hey Ted."

Slowly his skull would rise from the ground to read the face of the raven haired student, "Who the hell are you?"

Already off to a bad stop – Wonderful, "I'm Cody, we're on the same football team, and remember?"

Deciphering Cody's facial features and voice, Ted's mind plugged in who Cody was, "Oh yeah, Rhodes – You're the dude on the team who kept dropping that ball during the Bel Air game. Way to go man, you make Robert Gallery look like Tom Brady or something."

_If I had a gun…_ Cody wasn't too fond of the childish antics of Ted but he just came here to ask his question and get out of there, "I'm not here to talk about football. Listen, you know that girl Maryse – you've got something for her or what?"

"What's it got to do with you?"

Ted was only making this more difficult for Cody, "Answer my question first," Grumbled Cody, "Do you like her or not?"

"I'll answer your question," At this point of the conversation, Ted stood up straight and faced Eve, "What's it got to do with you, pretty boy?"

Enough was enough. Cody certainly wasn't finished with this conversation, "You know what? Forget about it. It's not that important to deal with right now. Thanks for nothing though."

"And thanks for wasting my time, pretty boy."

Quickly enough, Cody turned his back to his teammate and walked away. He didn't expect any different from Ted but for Maryse might be a little upset. This encounter only reassured Cody one thing about Ted.

Maryse noticed Cody returning, "Cody, did you find anything out? What did he say? Does he like me? Oh, I knew it!" She didn't even give him a chance to breath or anything. It was straight to asking a million questions he obviously didn't have an answer to, "He wants to go out with me right? I knew it – I always –"

"No!" Never the one to shout, Cody did and Maryse froze, "I asked him but he refused to answer any question and kept asking me what I should know and all. There's only one thing I know about him – he's an asshole."

"Yeah, I know – that's why he's driving me crazy," Her answer was like nothing before she stared right back at him, "I mean, just look at him. He oozes sex. I could only imagine sex with me. It's probably the best I'll ever have."

"Hey!" Feeling a bit insulted, since after all he was an ex-boyfriend.

"Oh Cody, you were good, in some areas, but in the other areas you could have done a bit better," Maryse shot down Cody's ability during intimate sessions between the two.

In Maryse's mind, she was putting together a picture. Everything that Ted and herself had been through was now making a little more sense with what her mind was saying. Maybe she wasn't the one to tell him? Maybe he really did like her but it was he that tell her and not the other way around? The piece of this puzzle that was missing was now fitting in.

"I think I know what has to happen. He does like me because if he kept pushing away from answering the question. All this time, it's me trying to tell him that I like him but I really think it was intended for him to tell me. This all makes sense now. I'm going to have to wait for him to tell me how he feels, not the other way around. This is perfect. Cody this is amazing!" Surprising of her, Maryse hugged the Football player with such joy.

"Uh, you're welcome."

Releasing the individual from her death grip, "He likes me and he will tell me. This is wonderful."

"Or you know, he could just be an asshole like I first proposed."

* * *

Never had a night in Los Angeles been so beautiful. Moonlight sky, breezy mind and moderate temperature. The only place where it wasn't nice was Victoria Varon's Marriage counseling office in downtown Los Angeles.

Her appointment involved two of her former classmates from West Beverly – Randy and Stacy Orton. The pair was here for a session of couples counseling hoping to repair their relationship that is crumbling.

Over the past few weeks, it has been awkward and odd in their home. Stacy would spend night sleeping alone while Randy would make himself comfortable in one of the spare bedrooms. Dinner was odd. They'd sit there and barely speak to one another. Weekends were the worse because they spent the entire day in the house while not saying a word to anyone of them. It's almost like they are divorced but still living in the same home.

With her legs tightly crossed, the leggy blonde waited for Victoria to get in. Problems with Randy were getting out of hand. She was losing trust. She was losing hope. She even began to believe that Randy was being unfaithful in this relationship. This marriage was just imploding and this counseling could help them out.

He was certainly noticed. Never in his life had he thought he would be in a situation like this. Randy didn't know what to expect from all of this. How was this going to help repair their marriage? For now, he had some hope lying in him that with all this help, their relationship could be saved.

Soon Victoria would stroll into her office. She offered a smile to the pair but was given two blank looks, "I suppose no one is really happy here today?" Trying to break the ice in the situation, neither of the two found it funny. Victoria sat in the desk before them and crossed her hands.

"I've read over your files about what you're having problems with and I'm here to help you two. As part of the whole process, I need to know each side of the story. Stacy will go first and Randy will go afterwards. Stacy, you may proceed."

Re-affirming herself, inside her head she wanted to keep the story straight forward and legit so that maybe this whole thing could be fixed.

"This all had to begin when Randy started working back at West Beverly. This other female began working there and Randy and her would bond – more than they should have," Stacy choose not to reveal her name as of yet until a more necessary time, "Like I said, they bonded a lot. Randy would lie to me and go out with her to restaurants and it started to make me think that he could be cheating. It doesn't end there – he listens to her like a dog. Her opinion on a topic would transpire to be his opinion. When I discovered this all, I asked him not to have any contact with her but he did and he lied about it. That's my problem and I want this all fix or I'll fix it a different way."

That other way was called divorce.

Victoria took in what Stacy had to say about the situation and thought about it all. Now if she puts in Randy's story, it will make a lot more sense, "Randy, you may speak now."

Mentally, Randy prepared himself for what he was about to speak upon. This was his chance.

"Well, i began working at West Beverly and I met her, the woman Dawn there. We'd talk and she was a nice woman. Stacy brought up one day about expanding our family and I already felt a little indifferent about it and I talked to Dawn about and she told me a story," Without moving his eyes away from Victoria, Randy could see Stacy rolling her eyes at him, "Since I disagreed on the choice of having another baby, Stacy pushed me away and I had no one else so I just talked to Dawn since I felt like she understood me more. Stacy discovered Dawn and I were going out at night to these places and I told her there I wouldn't speak to her anymore which I did. I stood clear from her and I didn't do anything."

"Liar," Stacy muttered under her breath, loud enough for Randy to hear.

"I didn't speak to her. I didn't see her. The only time I'd seen her was one evening when she showed up and she was right there, parked in front of the house. She knows what was going on with Stacy and myself. I'd tell her and I know that she's just doing it personally to destroy our marriage. I've done my part – it's just Dawn who's making it look as if I'm wrong, when I'm not.I love Stacy and nothing is ever going to change that."

It sounded genuine to Stacy but honestly, she couldn't believe it. With all the previous occurring events, how could she believe it? The one thing known in this case was that Randy still loved Stacy and she did too – The one thing that made her smile this whole evening.

Victoria analyzed the situation and came up with a conclusion to this, "There's some issues in this mess that I've uncovered. You guys are both at fault for this. Randy, you for lying to her and Stacy for not being as trustworthy as you should be. Randy may be telling you the truth."

This comes the part where Victoria needs to have an answer if she wants to help them, "Now, I want to ask you guys a very important question. The answer to this question will determine your future in this counseling session. Are you ready for it?"

The couple both nodded in response.

"Are you guys willing to take the time and effort to fix the problem you are having?"

And just like they answered the previous question, the couple looked at one another. They both knew they were in this and a nod was all they needed to give to know that there both in this till the end.

* * *

Like the speed of a motorcycle, Kelly's body just raced up taking in a complete gasp of air in the moment. She found herself in the West Beverly Channel's meeting room. It was empty and quiet. Not knowing how to explain the whole situation but it had all been a dream.

Kelly would be having recurring nightmares for the past weeks. This had to be number eight at least of the same situation happening, just a little tweaked up than how it usually would be. The first dream was the night at the hospital with Eve and she was the target of the dream. After all of that, she'd have the same dream with just a different person in Eve's position and in the end, someone would get her – believed to be the stalker that had been going around Beverly Hills.

The stalker kept Kelly on her toes even though nothing has happened since March. Eve and Savannah were the two victims and luckily nothing happened to anyone else. This dreams kept recurring and it did worry Kelly a lot. Did it have some sort of meaning? She didn't know; or would she ever know?

Momentarily after waking up, Evan came into the room and sat by the computer to edit some of the video footage for tomorrow morning's news. Getting up onto her two feet, she pulled a seat up to his desk and leaned up against him. Feeling her head crashing onto his shoulder, he smiled, "I've seen you've decided to wake up from your nap. You were knocked out cold for a good hour or two."

She didn't answer. Something was wrong and Evan was aware of it. Kelly and silence usually mean something.

"Is there something bothering you or something?"

Raising her head back up onto her shoulders, her frightened eyes looked up into his brown ones. Kelly garnered enough energy to say something, "I just had a bad dream. It was the same one I've been having since Eve gotten attacked."

Evan rolled his eyes. Honestly, he had heard about this hundreds of times and every time he tells her the same thing and when there's already so much pressure on him about his SAT results and newspaper, it was tough. He took a hold of her hands and looked her right into her eyes, "You've got to let this thing go. A dream's a dream. Nothing is happening and this isn't a sign of anything."

And just like he hated to hear this, she hated his reaction every time. The way he says it – it sounds like he doesn't care one little bit. It hurt, knowing that your boyfriend doesn't care about you. It really does hurt.

"Can you maybe show me that you care at least a little bit?" Suddenly her sadden expression had disappeared and it was replaced with a much more angry one, "I know that it's a bit too much every time I tell you what happens but you act like you don't even care about me."

"I do – I do care about you, not this stupid dream. You keep thinking about it; that's what's making you totally freak out."

"I do not. How the hell am I supposed to control a dream? If it happens, it happens. Can't you just be supportive?"

She wasn't only angry but he too was getting a little infuriated with the whole situation, "I cared the first time. I cared the second time. I cared the third time and it's been what – the tenth? The eleventh time? I think it's time to put it to rest and just let it be. Nothing is wrong and everything is fine. Now I've got to get back on this news story I'm doing for tomorrow morning."

Standing up she shot him a glare. His TV show was more important, "Well, even if I do get on your nerves – just show me that you care a little bit. Even if it's one percent – I've never asked for anything more."

"Well, maybe I just don't care anymore."

He did. He pushed her away. Evan reached the point where he could possibly never return. The blonde stood as her eyes scanned his face. The two were caught in a dead stare down. Kelly couldn't believe what he just said. He doesn't care. She's got her answer and what else does she need. He couldn't put it anymore straight forward than he did.

"Well, maybe I'll just leave," Her final words spoken to Evan.

Evan took a pillar of breath and slowly his facial expression changed, knowing he had hurt the blonde.

Locating her bag; she swung it over her shoulder and exited the classroom. Once down the hall for a moment, she rested her body against the blue lockers. For the first time, tears were released because of him. Never had before Evan made her shed a tear in her life and there's a day for everything and it appears today was the day.

Her thoughts rambled through her mind, trying to explain this whole mess to herself by questioning him and herself. Was he right? Was she right? It would be 50/50 but still, someone was left hurt.

One student – a friend of both Evan and Kelly – was making his way down the hallway when he saw the blonde. Once she had risen her head up, he could see the tears crawling down her smooth cheeks.

His sneakers would squeak against the tiled floor and got louder after each step. Following the noise of the sneakers, it would lead her to the face of Cody Rhodes looking directly at her. He looked like he cared – unlike Evan.

"Kelly, is everything alright?" Cody asked softly.

She nodded no. Gently with his arm, he'd rub against her shoulder as a remedy to make her feel better but it didn't seem to be working. Cody thought of something that could encourage her to speak, "How about we go to the pier? We can take a walk, talk a little bit and maybe got a corndog – I know you like them."

She accepted with a firm nod. Cody's arm collapsed around her shoulder as he guided her out of the school's grounds. Finally, someone cares.

* * *

It was back to spending afternoons with Maryse – but it wasn't as bad as it had use to me. For Eve, being with Maryse would be a death trap, mainly because of her feelings for Cody and now that they were no longer together, it made it much easier to be friends with her and actually be two girls, trying to have some fun.

Sipping on two ice coffees, one vanilla flavored and the other caramel flavored, the duo of ladies was enjoying their time together. Strolling down the school's corridors as students around them were caught into conversation and some were surprised to see the two of them walking next to each other and speaking; and by speaking, not calling each other skanks but having a normal conversation like any other average teenager would have.

Maryse was use to stares – only because she'd take it into more of a beneficial way and not always take it as a bad one, "Seriously, I know I am gorgeous and that every girl in this school wants to be me but it's no excuse to just stare at me," She could only flatter herself with her words, "I love being me."

"I don't think that they are staring because you're so gorgeous and all. I think our classmates find it surprising that we aren't ripping our throats apart. They knew what it used to be like."

"Keywords is used to. Let them stare all they want – just makes me feel like a million dollars. When they heard Kelly and I speaking again, I can still recall the twenty messages on my facebook inbox asking why we were friends again? I'll probably be getting a load of it tonight."

A chatter of giggles came through Eve's lips, "Seriously, this school is something. This is one different place where people act totally different – not like they did where I used to live."

"Again – keywords is used to. Honey, this is Beverly Hills. The town where people aren't what they are in the mountains. People here – some are losers, some have no lives, so are normal and then you've got people like you and I – the greatest people you'll ever meet here."

Eve raised her cup and smashed it lightly against Maryse's, "I hear you on that one."

Maryse suddenly stopped in her tracks, "Oh my god…"

Not exactly sure why Maryse had just frozen in her tracks but when she looked forward, she saw a selection of guys standing around – all pretty handsome looking. Eve located the source of Maryse's act.

"Which one are you staring at?"

"O – M – G, It's Ted," Slowly she uttered out the words and her eyes locked right onto Ted, "He looks super delicious today – I mean, what I would do to him if I was alone – heck, I wouldn't care if anyone was watching. Let them watch what I do to that boy."

While Maryse's mind filled with dirty thoughts, an image rose into Eve's mind and she just wanted it erased, "Well there's an image I won't be able to erase from my memory. Thanks Maryse – I could always count on you to do something like that."

"Based on your sexual fantasies with him, I'm going to guess you like him – a lot."

She asked the question and she was going to show Eve how much she liked him, "He drives me crazy and there's something just so sexy about him that I love. He's complicated and very too himself. He keeps giving me all these signals and I know somewhere he feels the same way about me and I'm just waiting for him to tell me how he feels. That day will come – just you wait."

"You really think he likes you because I hate to see you get your hopes up and the possibility of you getting hurt."

"Let me introduce you to him and you can tell him how amazing I am!"

Without any warning, Maryse pulled Eve with her free hand and walked her quickly over to Ted who was texting on his cellphone at the moment. Stopping right by his footsteps, Ted looked up slowly, "Frenchie – there you are."

"Ted," Presenting forward Eve, Ted scanned Eve from head to toe and smiled, "I'd like you to meet my friend Eve. Eve, this is my friend Ted."

Ted took her hand and softly shook it while his smile only grew larger, "It's a pleasure to meet you Eve. I think I've seen you around before. You use to date pretty boy."

"Nice to meet you too and I'm assuming that you're speaking about my ex, Cody?"

"Oh ex-boyfriend? Sorry to hear you and pretty boy broke up. Pretty boy must have gotten a little too pretty so you kicked him to the curb. I'd understand why you'd do it," His grin would remain on the beautiful Latina's sculpted body and face.

"Well, now that you two have met and all, I was going to ask Ted if would like to join us," Maryse proposed to her crush, "We were going to head to the beach now and I wondered maybe if you'd like to come with us?"

He grinned at Maryse, "Thanks for the invite but I've got somewhere to go now so I can't make it. Maybe next time, you can show me how to surf."

Who thought he would bring up her past surfing flop? "I suppose my lesson could wait," Maryse spoke between her laughs. Noticing afterward, Maryse discovered that she had to go to the restrooms for a quick visit, "Oh, I've got to go to the bathroom. Eve, I'll be right back and we'll leave okay? Stay right here," Maryse scatted right through the doors of the school and into the bathroom.

It was quiet awkward between Eve and Ted. Nothing was being said – just really odd eye contact. Eve was being really closed off but Ted seemed opened with a grin wrapped around his face.

"So you want to go out?"

She was shocked. Right off the bat, he just asks her the question. No warning or even a clue that he'd do it. They just practically met and he's asking her out? Plus, according to Maryse, he likes Maryse. What the hell was he doing?

"What? You want to go out? You're into Maryse though – why would you want to go out with me? You barely know me."

"I never said I liked Maryse. I may like her but I don't know but by the look of you, I think I like someone else now," His eyes would crawl up and down her body and she felt it a little bit, "Listen, I can pick you up and if you're worried that Maryse may find out, I won't let that happen. We'll keep it on the down low."

"I – I can't. Maryse is my friend and she's the one who would go out with you. You should ask her – she'll say yes."

"Yeah but the problem is when I saw you, I wanted to ask you. If you never showed up, I would have asked Maryse but now you're here and I've having a bit of a change of heart you know – so what do you say? We can go to Long Beach, I know this good place and I think a girl like you would like it."

The nerve of Ted to ask her, even when he knows that Maryse likes him, to ask her is absolutely uncalled for. This wasn't a guy that Maryse should really associate herself with. He had bad news written all over him and he would only cause Maryse pain – something she didn't need at the moment.

"I can't accept. I'm sorry – I can't do that to Maryse."

"Aha! You said you _can't _do this to Maryse but you never said you don't want to do this to Maryse so secretly, you want to go out with me, right?" He was going to dissect her like a frog on an operating table to get a clear cut answer he wanted.

He wouldn't give up. _I don't get this guy. Does he have a heart at all? Does he even care about Maryse at all? Can't he just take no as an answer and just leave me alone. I really don't want to deal with all of this. Why me?_

"No – no! I don't and can't go out with you. How do you like that as an answer for you?" Getting a little bit louder than normal, Eve was growing angrier than anything. Ted really knew how to push all of the wrong buttons on her, "The answer is no – and it will remain as no."

"Until?"

"There is no until. There is not date and you're going to stop this right now."

Standing at a not too far away distance, Maryse could see Eve and Ted talking. She couldn't hear – luckily for Eve – but she was getting frightened. Eve had already had her share with Cody and what makes her think she can't get Ted too? Maryse's eyes would be set on the Latina. Nothing was going to ruin what she has with Ted – not anybody, especially Eve.

* * *

Like he had said previously, Cody took Kelly to a quieter destination than the walls of school. Clearly the blonde was upset about something and it's good to go somewhere to release your emotions, in a quiet as way possible. Cody figured that the beach would be a good location to just recollect herself.

Kelly's eyes stood glued to the shorelines, watching the ocean crash onto the shore and taking some sand along with it into the sea. The seagulls came by chirping away and the occasionally rolling noise came down the boardwalk of an individual riding his or her skateboard. It was such a peaceful place just to hear yourself think sometimes.

Kelly was definitely grateful of Cody's sudden appearance and for his selection to bring her somewhere peaceful and relaxing. The whole ordeal with Evan was really heart straining on the girl.

He said he didn't care. He just didn't care about her anymore. What was going on? This happens all of a sudden – completely out of left field and now Kelly's mind is racing – racing with thoughts and ideas of what exactly she had to do.

With some leftover tear still in her eyes, Kelly wiped them off and finally manage to say a word, "Thanks Cody."

"It's not a problem. You've helped me before and I think it's time I return the favor," Kelly had done her share of help for Cody and his problems and returning the favor certainly wasn't an issue that bothered Cody, "Now, are you going to explain to me what happened and why you were so upset?"

She needed help and she had helped Cody; maybe it's time to get her back scratched now that she had done his, "Well, it has to do with Evan and some dreams I've been having. Since Eve had gotten attacked, I had some recurring nightmares involving the stalker and I've told Evan before that I feel like it's some sort of sign and he just went off saying I should just let it go and bury it but I can't. He acted like he didn't even care about me and eventually he told me he didn't even care – that explains why I'm a total mess. My own boyfriend doesn't care about me."

"He does care," Cody answered, "I know Evan – he's been one of my good friends and I know he didn't mean what he said. He was probably upset and when your upset, you say something you shouldn't have said."

"It's not only that. The whole nightmare thing gets me scared. I would have a nightmare and I'd always be afraid afterward, thinking something could happen. It's a scary feeling."

Nightmares have a way of getting to people in a psychological sense. They make you fear the littlest thing and it could ruin lives. Kelly's life was being engulfed over this whole mess. Cody felt for her and he understood where she was coming from.

"I'll tell you a story," It was time to go down memory lane, "I'd have recurring nightmares about some car crash and I'd be afraid to drive to the point where I didn't even want to see a car. Afterward I realized I shouldn't let this get to me and I did the unthinkable. One day I wanted to test myself so I took a solo road trip all the way up to San Francisco and back. It felt great. I overcame my fear and I've never felt better. So what I think you need to do is test yourself. Take some self-defense course and it will make you feel better and safer."

Putting your problem to the test was the answer. Cody's story was understandable and relatable. She figured out what she had to do – with that at least. Evan was the problem now – what was she to do?

"What about Evan? What am I going to do about that?"

"I think you could maybe ask yourself."

His phrase hadn't made any sense. Evan wasn't here. As she pulled her head up, she could see he was there. He was standing right before her. Normally, she never feels so weak compared to Evan.

"Cody, do you mind if I talk to Kelly for a second?" When Evan asked, Cody had to let the couple fix their mistake so he did as he was told and left the two of them alone but didn't go too far away – perfect distance to make sure everything was going well.

A cold stare was all she had to offer to her boyfriend. Evan really did feel bad. Never did he want to hurt Kelly like this. All this waiting he did for her and to just throw this all away like that wasn't worth it. Kelly was worth it. Evan hoped that she would recognize his apologize.

"Listen, I'm sorry I went off on you like that. It was completely wrong. I should've been more understanding," What he did was wrong and he wanted to let Kelly know that he was sorry, "And I do care about you. I care about you so much. Okay, so I do get annoyed about hearing about your dream but I still care about you and it won't ever change. I just said that earlier because I was a bit angry with so much pressure of my SAT results and the project."

Nothing was said yet. It was just silent. Evan bent forward onto his knees, now at equal height as the blonde sitting down. He pulled up her chin, "If you don't forgive me, I won't even be able to forgive myself for saying I don't care."

"Let's.." Beginning to softly speak, she paused once again and started once more, "Just let this go okay? I love you and let's not fight again like this. It really scares me sometimes and I hate to fight with you. Promise?"

"I promise," Evan kissed her on her lips and pulled her into a hug, holding her tightly, "I promise this won't happen again and I'm going to show you I care a lot more."

The couple continued to stay locked in their embraced position for quiet some while. From the distance he was standing out, Cody could see the duo had made up and all was well from there. A smile curved across his smooth lips witnessing their reconciliation. Deep inside, he could feel he did something right and that's what made him smile. It wasn't only that which was making him smile a lot. Something else was not only making him smile but making his heart race like never before – similar to how Eve would make his heart race – only it wasn't Eve making his heart race; it was someone else.

* * *

**A/N: **I've hit Chapter twenty and i couldn't be any prouder than i am!  
Torrie returns next chapter, Randy and Stacy seem to be fixing their mess, More Ted and Maryse drama with some Eve tossed in there and Evan and Kelly have a blowout and Cody is there to help. Does everyone see where everything is going now?  
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter - please leave a REVIEW! :) they make me very very happy!  
Thanks for Reading and still vote on that poll - those characters you vote for should come into the story soon or sooner than you think ;)


	21. Party Crashers

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty One_ - Party Crashers

Eve's fierce light colored eyes traced the lines down her textbook. Her homework last night was to read a passage about something that happened millions of years ago to someone she could care less about. Mr. Styles assigned it and along with the reading was the possibility of having a pop quiz. Better safe than sorry.

Nothing distracted her – yet that is. If Maryse or Kelly were to pop out of nowhere, it wouldn't be the greatest thing to happen. She could forget about passing the quiz and hear the two babble on about interesting news going around the school.

And speak of the two devils – they have arrived.

"Kelly, I'm telling you that's impossible. Anything that originates out of Alicia's little mouth is a lie so for her to be telling the truth is ridiculous," An argument was being inflicted between the two blondes – apparently over the fiercely foxy, Alicia Fox. "If she had been cast to be in the new twilight movie – this world would have been sucked into a black hole and that hasn't happened has it?"

Kelly was believing the silly rumors going around school again and some just made absolutely no sense, "Well, I wouldn't be surprised. Her dad is a producer and she dreams to be an actress so it could be. Alicia could be telling the truth."

"Eve, would you please tell this woman to come to her senses?" Maryse began to beg at Eve's side. Maybe the brunette could do something about this situation, "For the love of my little ears – there seconds from falling out."

Was this necessary at all; especially at this time? Knowing that she'd do it eventually, Eve shut her books away and shoved them to her side. _I can already see Styles putting the big red F on my paper. Yeah, I see it._

"I swear – the things you guys talk about is completely bizarre. I don't know which is more crazy – Alicia's appearance in a vampire flick or the rumor of Beth being a hermaphrodite? Decisions, decisions, decisions." Her fingers brushed up and down her chin as she thought, "What kind of question did I just ask myself?"

Kelly leaned over to the Brunette and saw the load of history books lying at her side, "You were trying to study for Styles' pop quiz? There is so going to be a quiz and I didn't read the passage. So I'll fail but that's nothing really new to me."

"Sometimes, I just want to burn my books in a huge bonfire," The voice belonging to Maryse said, "I want to take the student formulas in my Algebra book, pour some gasoline in them and set them ablaze and just scream at the top of my lungs – to hell with you binomial theorem. Don't you guys feel like that too?"

"No – because I'm normal," Said the up-front Golden girl who was given a glare in response of her comments.

"I understand where Maryse is coming from," Eve could relate to her in this case, "Fairly, is it me or did our teacher's spring up us more work than we've had all year long? Every day when I get home, I'm flooded with homework and studying."

The two pondered on the question momentarily and could realize where Eve was coming from. Eve wasn't wrong. "Guerrero, Styles and Ross are piling up more work and work – but remember, classes are over next week so this is there way of trying to get in all the work that should have been cover at least two months ago," Kelly brought up the correct point to answer the question, "Great Teachers I tell you."

While listening to both of her friends, the French Canadian native was concocting another thought. It's Friday. The week is practically over. There young. Her mind was coming up with something that would be perfect to relieve the stress of school of their shoulders.

"I have an idea."

Momentarily, the two women speaking before her turned their heads and locked eyes with the blonde, who's mysterious and suspicious expression grew even wider, "Ladies, we live in the - if not thee - greatest place on this earth. We've been through hell this year and why not just have a celebration? And what better way to celebrate than hit the town tonight. The city is ours and we've got it in the palm of our hands - what do you say for a girls night out?"

_She makes sense to me - for once. _A soft smile appeared across her lips as the idea of a girl's night out sounded wonderful. A chance just to be free and with friends in a city that is not like any other city.

_A night out on the town? Don't say no more, i'll be there. _For Eve, a chance to get out of her house and to enjoy the real part of Beverly Hills was exciting. For almost the past year, she's seen so much and this would be a wonderful chance to see even more - just have a little more nightlife in it.

Soon, a grin came across Eve's face as well as Kelly, "I'd go for a girl's night out – you can certainly count me in on this fun," Said the Latina Denver gone Beverly Hills teenager, "But do you think this town is ready for us three?"

"Ready or not, here we come because tonight – forget school, forget work, forget boyfriends – well, not entirely since I'd like to be in a faithful relationship but you understand. Tonight's a night where we just focus on being with a great group of friends and having fun," She told her two friends as she wore the smile proudly.

"And don't bring Ted!"

That reminder came from Eve who didn't have the greatest interaction with him and since it is a girls only night. Just by the look in her eyes when she stares at me, she was in love with the guy and Maryse would invite him just to spend some more time with him.

"I wouldn't. It's girl's night and there isn't a guy allowed in sight," She was quick to shrug it off.

Of course Maryse's heart was taken away. Ted had it – but he didn't decide what he was going to do with it yet. As for now her heart stayed put until he would just say it and get it over with but it's journey wasn't turning out like that. This journey was taking all the time in the world.

If it hadn't been known yet – Ted was driving Maryse absolutely crazy. The odd thing about it had to be that she used to be the person to drive the guy crazy but would come through in time. As for Ted DiBiase, he believed in a long haul of absolute craziness he decides to come through or even if he decides. There wasn't a yes or no to this question.

"I won't even bother looking at him or anything. In fact ladies, I'll be leaving school earlier than usual to prepare myself for tonight and the very last thing I'll be thinking about is him."

She'd spoken to soon.

Down the hallway inside the courtyard, he journeyed forward to reach his final class of the day. His face moved to his side and he shot a smile right toward her – at least she thought it was for her.

Ted had directed the smile elsewhere – only to about a couple of inches to her left to a bombastic brunette that was alluring beauty and confidence in her standing position. His eyes ate up her body like nothing. The amount of eye sex going on was unbelievable – enough for a nun to pray a rosary. The lone individual continued his stare until she'd eventually catch on that it wasn't Maryse he was looking at – it was Eve.

* * *

For a guidance counselor, the end of the year was an extremely stressful and unhappy time for those lucky individuals. The amount of work that had to be done was beyond ridiculous but they all had something to look forward too – a nice couple of months away from the desk and away from the menacing students that attend this high school.

Her eyes scrolled down the computer before her, checking a few emails before she was almost done for the day. Mostly ridiculous spam mails to sell some silly sexual enhancement drugs to ordering useless teacher's supplies she'd ever use in her life.

Another email came forward – just send at 2:27pm and it was from the sender with the name AJ Styles.

Her breath was bit taken away. It had only been a few weeks ago when she had sent the first email, discussing how she couldn't afford to do this anymore and had to choose. Who she had chosen wasn't him – it was John. John was for her and AJ was a time in her life she enjoyed but now he has been released – and apparently disappeared a few days ago.

His email read.

_At first I was extremely hurt when you sent this message but after reading it a few more times, I realized that you were just doing what you had to do. Ever since we had first begun dating, I knew that you were still in love with him and that I could never be the way he was. I know you've wanted him back for so long – not just for yourself but for your two children. All I can do at this point is thank you for at least giving me this. Giving me this closure and apologize has made everything a lot easier for me. It's been easier to let go and move on. I do want to let you know that you're an amazing woman, wife and mother. I've never seen a happier set of children than yours. I was lucky enough to get to know them a bit and you've raised them wonderfully. You've probably also wonder what happened to me. I manage to give my finals early and I've decided it was time to just be alone and recollect myself. It's been a rollercoaster for me these two years and I just need some time by myself. It's time I just set my sights on what's best for me so that brings me to spending my summer in New Zealand. I've got a friend out here and I plan on traveling the entire region for the next two months. Maybe by the time I'm back, I will have acquired an accent. As for your deal on being friends, we've always have been so why establish something that has been around already?_

_Take Care,  
AJ_

Amazing. That's exactly how it felt to know that grudges were removed and this set sail on the process of trying now to get through John. He was set somewhere across the United States – in Boston staying with his parents at the moment. So many times she had tried to call him but he wouldn't answer – except for his mother sometimes but she'd always say he wasn't around.

Now with AJ past her, it would know take a lot of time to get John to come around. Since he wasn't going to speak to her, at least she would write to him and let him know how she truly feels.

_John,_

_I hope you don't just toss this message away because I want you to read this. You don't answer the phone so this is the only way I can actually get through to you and let you know everything. I love you. That's what you need to know. I love you and I want you to come home to your family and to me. You belong here, with Nathan, Ella and I. John, I love you and I know this whole mess with AJ torn us up again but it's done and over with. I know what I want. I want a happy family and I want you. That's it. That's all I want. I want you. I want you! I love you. I don't know how many times I've said it but I love you and I want you to come home. _

It was quick, sweet and straight to the point. Hopefully this email could provide something to get through the individuals mind.

Once that had been taken care of, someone who was having his own set of problems had strolled into her office. This one certainly had a growing problem that in fact was now being solved with some help from an expert. Randy's marriage – after quiet some while – was being placed right back on the tracks it had use to be on.

With help from a former classmate of theirs gone therapist, Victoria Varon was helping locate the problem. Their dissolving marriage was slowly being put back together which at one point was crumbling into pieces.

It had a lot to do with communication and trust. Stacy was learning how to trust Randy now and Randy had learned a lot more in how to communicate how he felt to Stacy. Everything was going just marvelous and hopefully nothing would go wrong in the coming days.

"Randy, you seem happy? That's a bit odd – what happened?"

Through that smile of his, he let out a few words, "I've never been feeling better. Stacy and I have really been working well together and I honestly believe we are going to get through this and be the way we once were."

It placed a smile onto her lips when she heard that Stacy and he were doing much better. They were both close friends to the blonde and she knew that they loved one another very much. To hear that their marriage was being repaired was happy to hear.

"Thank god because I would not have any idea what I would do if anything would have happened to the either one of you."

"Stacy and I are going to be fine. It's almost like we were back in high school – that's how I feel about her with all of this."

Randy was happy. Torrie was happy. Someone else wasn't too happy about this and she stood right outside the door. Tugging her brown locks behind her ear, she heard the whole conversation and how happy the pair was happy now. Much to her displeasure, Dawn wasn't at all happy to hear this. This wasn't supposed to happen like this.

A devious smile crawled its way onto her lips and it was then when she thought of the perfect idea to try and drive these two apart – for good this time. In her hand, a group of photographs lay in her hand and that was all she needed to finally split these two up – permanently.

* * *

Putting together the final issue of the school year had to be the most complicated of them all. Wrapping up the massive events of the past year would be tough but Evan was more determined more than ever to give the school the best issue of the West Beverly Times that has been posted all year.

Never underestimate Evan Bourne – he can surprise you.

As his fingers typed away on the keyboard, Cody Rhodes made his way into the room. The football player stood before the Journalist in the making and blocked the computer screen for a brief moment with his hand, "Could you stop attempting to make the greatest issue of the West Beverly times? It's just a paper."

Never did his friend understand how he felt about this newspaper. It was his life and what he plans on doing for the rest of his life. Cody just didn't understand.

Slapping his hand away from the screen, Evan removed his glasses and grinned at him, "Who's attempting? I'm just about finished with it anyway and it will hit the stands by next Tuesday. If you'd like me to autograph it, you know where I am."

"You're just Evan Bourne – not Tom Hanks or something," The kid had dreams but it's good to dream, "You texted me to come up here so what is it? I've got to hand back my football gear to Coach."

Not aware of what the ladies were doing, Evan was planning his own night out – just for the guys to let loose and celebrate a school year. Only problem was one of Evan's invites. He wasn't exactly friendly with Cody.

"Well, tonight I've got some plans. We're heading out tonight to celebrate so scratch off whatever you planned on doing tonight."

"And what exactly are we going to do?" Exclaimed Cody, with his right eyebrow now cocked up, "And who are we going to go with?"

"With me pretty boy."

He recognized that voice. He recognized that name. Slowly arching his head around, Cody stared at Ted – eye to eye. He grinned while looking at Cody who wasn't extremely happy at the moment.

"Great, now I've got to listen to the stupid remarks of this guy," If he had said pretty boy one more time, Cody may just have burst of angry jump out, in the form of fists into Ted's face, "And listen to him say pretty boy all day long."

"Pretty boy, come on. I'm not going to call you pretty boy all day. I'll probably rotate from pretty boy to well… Pretty boy but with more emphasis," Playing this little game with Cody was entertaining for Ted, "But you're going to need me tonight if you want to go out and celebrate."

"And where the hell is this place? The trailer park?"

Ted sucked onto his teeth before pulling out two cards, both that have some sort of photos along with some information, "We're heading out – hitting the bars and strip joints in this town so that's why I've got us some fake I.D'S," Presenting forward the two cards and handing them each one of them, "There not your real names so –"

"Luis Delafuente?" For Cody, it was hard to believe that he'd pass for this I.D. since it sounded more Spanish than anything, "How the hell am I going to pass for someone who is Spanish?"

"Head to the tanning salon and ask for the darkest you can be and you'll look like a Rocco Delafuente."

"Leon Porter? Not bad, I could pass for this guy," Evan held up his I.D, "From now on – well from 8pm to the late hours of the night, I'll be known as Leon Porter. This is cool. It's like I'm a secret agent. What's yours Ted?"

"Luke Harper."

With his narrow eyes, Cody stared at the glorious Evan and wondered one thing when he looked back at Ted, "Why do you and Evan get a normal name and I get something clearly out of context?"

"It was either that or Pretty Boy – You're call."

While examining the I.D carefully, all the young man had to do was hope that tonight would be a successful and fun night. Let's hope Luis could get his way through this night without having to rip someone's head off – preferably Ted.

* * *

Once night had overcome Beverly Hills, it was a completely different place. The people that would occupy the streets during the day were replaced with a whole new set of people. Partygoers filled the sidewalks, as many of them awaited to get into the many clubs, lounges and bars that laid up and down the streets on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Circling the streets, trying to find some sort of parking were two blondes and a brunette in the back seat, staring at the hundreds of partygoers ready to get inside the clubs. In the front seat, Maryse's groaning was getting out of hand since it has been a good twenty minutes since they've found anything.

"I'm never going to find parking here. It's nearly impossible," Her hands never released the leather steering wheel since they had past Melrose Avenue, "I wish I knew how to hotwire a car. I'd take one of these cars, hotwire it and park it somewhere else so I can fit mine in it's place."

"And we'd be spending our night at the local precinct instead of a club. That's how I like my Friday nights – sitting behind a nice set of steel bars next to you guys, a prostitute and bum. Every girl's dream."

Trying to keep in on a positive note, Eve decided it was best to speak to rid them of the negativity, "We'll find something. I saw some valet parking over there so we can check that place out."

"I bet the guys are having the time of their life right now," The blonde groaned out loud, "There all probably completely wasted out of their minds right now."

"The guys when out? Guys as in Evan and Cody?"

"Ted too. Ted, Cody and Evan all went out tonight like us to have their guys night out while we have our girls night out."

"Look!" Shouted the ecstatic brunette sitting in the backseat of the car; her finger pointed straight ahead toward a valet parking into a hotel – the Hollywood Roosevelt, "At the Roosevelt they've got a valet – we can park there."

Maryse sped straight ahead and went full speed, not stopping at the stop signs and not even taking a look anywhere. She wanted a parking spot and she'll do anything to get the spot and if it involved getting into a serve accident – let it be.

Entering from the back entrance, Maryse left her vehicle with the valet. Coming out of the vehicle, Maryse was glammed from head to toe in a blue ruched strapless dress. Kelly on the other side came out in her skin tight black skirt and off the shoulder pink top and Eve came out in a stunning spaghetti strapped violet dress. The valet took her keys and the three ladies hooked their arms, Maryse in the middle and Kelly and Eve at each side as the trio of ladies walked forward into the hotel.

Maryse located a group of photographers heading into the cabana area and could see a party going on that way. She stopped right there and looked at the ladies, "Look, there's a party going on outside and I think it's a big one. There's even a red carpet."

"I don't know," Eve was a little frightened. The three of them weren't invited and they couldn't just crash the party like that. It wasn't right, "We weren't invited."

"So? I say we do it. This is our life, we only live it once and we're supposed to celebrate!"

Kelly and Eve equally nodded at the same time, agreeing with Maryse. You only live life once and it's best to do everything possible and take a risk here and there.

* * *

As the party rolled on, the girls made themselves comfortable during the movie premiere after party. Yes, the ladies had crashed a party – which they had no prior knowledge of – and it happened to be a movie premiere. What were the chances of that? Maryse was over at one corner talking to one of the stars of the movie while Eve was talking to a guy by the bar. The smile on her face was there for a reason.

As for Kelly – she was there alone. Her drink lay in the palm of her hand and occasionally she'd reach over and take a sip every so often. The photographers around her caught the glimpses of others while she stood their alone.

If there was a time she wished she was single, it would be right now. Don't get the blonde wrong, she loves Evan. It's just the whole atmosphere here. Eve was mingling and Maryse was mingling with another guy. It was finally then when it looked as if Maryse had loss some interest in Ted.

It was simple answer to a simple question. Kelly just missed Evan and wished he was here to spend this time with him – but he was stuck somewhere around Beverly Hills having a few drinks.

She'd spoken too soon.

Two individuals, Ted and Evan, had in their arms an incapacitated Cody Rhodes. Kelly didn't immediately jump into concern but into a fit of laughter and giggles, "What the hell happened? Is Cody drunk?"

"Hellooooo Kelly!"

"Yeah – he's definitely drunk."

Losing grip slightly, Ted pulled Cody's arm a little bit tighter to secure him around his neck, "Cody decided to take as many shots as one person and chug down as many beers as anyone else at the bar and guess what? He won."

"Are you sure we shouldn't take him to the emergency room? His liver seems to be crying for help," Evan knew that Cody likes to drink but not this much and he didn't expect him to go so quickly, "And I thought Cody could hold his liquor well."

"Apparently not."

"I've got to go to the bathroom for a second. You think you guys could handle him for a second?" Evan asked. The two nodded and Kelly took over for Evan. The trio took a seat on a group of couches and sat Cody down.

"How'd you guys get in? This is a private party."

"The guy at the front thinks I'm one of the Kardashians siblings, Cody's apparently a member of the Lakers and Evan's an Academy award winning actor for his role in Saving Private Ryan. I know, where the hell did they come up with this but we're here and that's all."

Cody was regaining consciousness every so often and he'd constantly see a beautiful image of Kelly's smile – shining right before him. He'd never seen a girl so beautiful in his life. Her smile was a sweet one. Her personality was rare. Her beauty was something he'd never seen before. Kelly was just amazing. That's what Cody thought about her and he wanted to let her know that. He just wanted to explain to her how he felt and now could be the time.

"Kelly…. Kelly," He repeated softly as a smile grew onto his lips, "I need to tell you something. I really need to tell you something."

Not sure what it could be but then again it was probably something silly as it's seen that he's drunk. Kelly nodded and said, "You know you can tell me anything Cody. What is it?"

Pulling himself forward, he managed to sit up straight and not fall back. His eyes looked directly into hers and he released a smile, "I've been wanting to telling you something for weeks but I didn't. I don't know why but I didn't and I want to say it now."

"Say whatever you've got to say – I'm listening."

One slow and confident deep breath, Cody looked directly at her and said, "Kelly, I really like –" Not so fast, coming from behind, he could see Evan and it reminded him why he couldn't say what he really wanted to see so he finished his sentence with the first thing he saw, "that butterfly necklace – it's really nice. Maybe I should get one?"

Ted watched sternly and laughed too himself. Though he didn't know if it was true, he could tell that Cody wanted to say something much different than what he really said. Something that made a little more sense.

Kelly admitted to laughter and she smiled, "I'll get one – just for you."

A smile perched onto his lips and Ted decided he needed to have a word with Cody – something he thought he would never have to do but it happens, "Cody, let's head over to the bar and get you something to drink – maybe water," Ted perched his arm of his shoulder and helped him walk over to the bar. He stood Cody right by the bar stool and got him a drink.

"So you like Kelly dude?"

Acting shocked, Cody smirked, "What are you talking about? I don't like her. I don't like her even a little bit. You drank too much – that's why you're saying it."

"No Cody, you're drunk – really drunk. Honestly, I thought I've seen bad before but this is bad," He admitted before continuing on the subject he wanted to speak upon, "I know you wanted to tell her but dude, you know she's going out with Evan? How is this whole thing going to work if she's with Evan?"

"No – she likes me. She was being nice to me. She likes me, I know it."

As hard as it was to accept that maybe she doesn't like him in return, Cody still had her heart set on it. He didn't care. His heart has been on rollercoasters all the time and he isn't going to let something like this stop him. Risks are made to be taken and he will take it. It's just how much he likes he that he didn't care what he could lose from this.

* * *

As the party was coming more to a close, Eve found herself at a couch just trying to catch up with herself. Tonight was a night that was just amazing. Here she was at a Hollywood party, where she shouldn't have been but was anyway and just had a wonderful time. She'd met a few people – some famous and some normal like her.

It was certainly an entertaining night but something had to ruin in. Walking toward her was the person who would be ruining her night – just simply by existing.

"Ted, I'm not interested in talking so could you please leave me alone?" She asked nicely before trying to step away only to be stopped.

"I just want the answer I'm looking for. I want you to go out with me – just one time and that's all. Maybe after that we could have some real fun and I'll show you what Ted is all about," The arrogance was clear in his tone and Eve simply rolled her eyes.

"Don't you get it. I don't want you. I would never want you or anything like that so get it through that thick head of yours – I'm never going to go out with you plus you like Maryse, right?"

"But can't I have my cake and eat it too?"

Sternly staring him in the eyes, she just said, "You're a jerk," and walked away from him. Not too far off, Maryse watched on and actually felt threatened. She feared that something was going to happen to her and Ted's relationship. She could feel it through her veins and wondered if Eve was responsible for this or was Ted playing a game? Playing a sick game that in the end she'd lose – and she'd really lose it all.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm not happy with this chapter at all because 1 - it was a filler so not much really happens and 2 - i had a bit of writer's block.  
I just get this feeling inside of me and it tells me that i have to finish it by this time or something. It's stupid, i know.  
It was rushed - especially toward the end - so i want to apologize. I know i could do better than this and you guys deserve much better.  
This just sets up for what happens in the next chapter so all of you stay tuned to see what happens.  
Thank you for reading and baring through this horrible chapter but i will make this up.  
PLEASE REVIEW! :) Thank you.


	22. The Undisclosed Desires

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty Two_ - The Undisclosed Desires

This was it. It had finally come. The final class on the last day of class of the school year.

Junior year was officially over. The current seniors were graduating today and the current juniors will be seniors tonight at the junior ring ceremony. The ceremony itself is supposed to seal the fact that the juniors are officially seniors.

If one girl was looking forward to tonight, it had to be Maryse. The moment she scrambled out of her final class, a smile was written across her face and you just couldn't take it off. Teachers and faculty have both said she wouldn't make it through the year. They were wrong. Her report card was positive – nothing negative in sight.

Coming out of the classroom, Ted was more relived to have escaped another school year without having failed a course – at least he think he hasn't failed yet. Glancing over his final paper for English class, he noticed a big fat 'C' instead of the usually bright red inked 'F' in its place. Looks like there's no summer school for this guy this year.

Her heart melted away as it usually would every time she caught a glimpse of Ted. Her smile grew much larger and her heart thumped heavy through her chest.

As he strolled forward, wagging his notebook on his side, Maryse ran up behind him and extended a finger tapping him on his broad shoulder. Twisting back for her, he wasn't shocked to see Maryse running behind him. The blonde was a bit attached to him as of lately and she wouldn't let him go.

"Did you pass Mrs. Guerrero's class?"

Nodding firmly, he smirked in delight, "Yeah, she didn't fail me and she gave me a C actually so I'm not – for the first time – going to summer school this summer. This leaves me to hit the swells that come out onto Malibu for the summer."

"I'm actually getting a beach house there for the summer," What a coincidence. Maryse certainly didn't believe that; she thought it was meant to be. A summer with Ted couldn't be a better idea, "You should definitely come. You could surf right there because my backyard is literally the beach. You can also help with my surfing."

He looked at her in disbelief, before he starting chuckling away when he remembered Maryse's first attempt at trying to surf, "I don't think you'll need anyone to teach you. You already own the seas with your moves."

A light slap against his bulging arm was received from Maryse, "Stop – I don't want to be reminded of my prior surfing experience. It's embarrassing as it is. So you'll help?"

"Count me in – I'll be there."

Maryse had been attached to Ted for the past six months or so. Trying to pry her off was impossible because she'd jump right back. He liked it. He just liked the attention but he wasn't too sure if he liked something else. He could be getting himself attached to the blonde, just in a different and more surprising way. It wasn't like him but he didn't want to admit it but he had too – he kind of thought he was falling for the French Canadian. She was beautiful, funny and charming in a way and it was kind of hitting him now. He didn't want to admit it but a part of him thinks he's falling for her – slowly but surely.

"And are you going to be coming tonight to the junior ring ceremony? I'm going, so is Kelly, Cody, Evan and Eve – you should come. We'd have a lot of fun."

"I don't know."

"Please! Please!" She'd get down on her knees to make him come and that's not something she'd normally do.

"I – I," Stuttering out his words was really uncommon of him. What was getting over him?

Suddenly, he stopped speaking when he felt someone take a hold of his hand. The smooth touch of another's hand took a hold of Ted's rugged hand. A slight squeeze provided extra pressure onto his hand and he had yet to move an inch.

"Please Ted. Come for me. I'd love it if you came."

He couldn't say no. He just couldn't.

"Well, I guess I can move some things out of my schedule for tonight."

A squeak of happiness uttered through her semi-glossed lips, "Thank you," She said to him, "So I'll see you tonight then."

Once her body had turned around and disappeared into the hallway, Ted thought about her. This wasn't normally him. The usual Ted would blow off the person but something told him not too. Something in his body told him to just go with it and risk it. To say the least, he was happy that Maryse would be there.

When she walked away from him, the smile she had couldn't be erased. Ted had left such an impression on her and he never wanted to see him go. Now that he was coming tonight, it just made her good day just that better. What more could she have wanted? Ted was going to be there and maybe at the post party, they could share a dance and let things lead somewhere a little more interesting.

Who knows what the night could have in store for them but hopes were brought up highly that it would be an exceptional evening for the both of them.

Now that her day has gotten even better, she noticed something else. The hallways were still a little cluttered even though it was the end of the day. It was mostly filled with students on her grade level. Like animals, they'd group together and whisper to one another. It was puzzling. Kids at this school were always secretive and constantly whispering when no one was looking around. When something like this occurs, she knew something had happened. Something was going on and she'd find out eventually.

Once she had brought herself to turn to the corner, there was a clear cut pathway sliced up for her. Straight ahead, she could see the doors of the school open and students at the sides, continuing to dabble on about something. It was then when she saw a figure appear through the door.

Her strut was a full of confidence. The woman felt like this was her catwalk; she was the model and the people around her wish they could look like her. Her chocolate brown locks flowed with the wind she was creating in her walk and her heels created a loud stomping noise that had echoed through the hallway. The yellow dress that was being held against her body moved in the wind as once she had removed her glasses that covered her eyes, it was revealed to the whole word what was happening to West Beverly.

Nikki Bella had returned to the very hills that made her who she was.

Maryse's jaw had collapsed to the ground once she put together the puzzle piece to this mystery. Her former BFF had returned – or was it just a visit? Who could possibly know. Once the brunette was close enough to her, she called out "I spy with my little eye something French," Nikki tapped her finger on her lip as he eye's locked right onto Maryse, "Maryse – I'm back baby!"

"Oh my god!"

With all the excitement, Maryse didn't hesitate and she quickly shoved her arms under Nikki's and grasped her like a little doll fresh from the package.

Managing to put herself together and realized what was going on was real, Maryse caught her breath and looked Nikki up and down. The students around them soon began to disperse and they were left alone for a few moments until someone managed to say something and it happened to be Maryse.

"Nikki, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Arizona, not Beverly Hills. Start explaining yourself."

"I suppose I should before other people decide to make up their own crap," You could always count on people in this school (i.e Rosa, Alicia, The beautiful people etc.) to spread false information all over the school.

"My parents got divorced. Mommy thought our twenty year old Gardner was a much suitable choose for her life so Daddy bought a mansion in the hills. Brie and I cannot stand the sight of one another because she likes every single guy I've dated so I decided to some with him and she's going to stay in Tucson with my mom and that brings me here because I'm now going to be coming back to West Beverly. Your senior year just got a lot better."

Nicole 'Nikki' Bella was a former student at Best Beverly. Maryse, along with Kelly, Alicia and Rosa would be the girls that runned the school since freshmen year. The five were glued to one another but it dried up over time. Eventually Nikki left at the beginning of sophomore year and moved to Arizona and everyone thought Nikki would be gone for good, along with her sister. Apparently you can't keep her away for long and it was thrilling to see Nikki back. It was almost like the old days – just a little bit better.

"I'm sorry to hear that girl. I hope you're doing fine."

"I saw it all coming," From the back of Nikki's mind, Nikki knew that her parents were always at the brink of divorce, "I knew they'd get divorce some day and I'm actually happy to get away – mainly because of Brie. We can't get along at all and she just creates problems and I really don't need problems right now. I'm too young for them."

"Don't get me started about problems. I have a complete set of them that I can tell you about. It's time to catch up," Maryse linked her arm with Nikki's. The duo turned to the door and walked in that direction, "Tell me everything that's happened since you left – don't leave a detail out."

* * *

It was the final session.

Not in separate seats as they were throughout the course, the two shared the couch together and were surprisingly close to one another. Stacy's hand had rested on his lap and Randy kept his arm over her and held her tightly.

It was almost like the pair was back to their normal selves. Before, this would never happen. All the closeness would be happening. Trust and truthfulness was finally being restored to the damaged relationship and the wound left was beginning to heal a lot quicker.

Victoria Varon, their former classmate turned marriage counselor had been a crucial player in keeping their relationship together. The woman truly worked her magic on the couple.

"Now, I believe that settles all of that. I haven't seen faster process in any other of my couples until you guys. I don't see any other problems coming along the way and you guys will be fine. I do suggest that you two of you save some time for yourselves and just be alone. You need time to yourselves sometimes – without children, friends and work."

"One step ahead of you," Said Randy Orton as his head cocked over to Stacy. She was confused, "I already got us a place to go for a couple of days. Don't worry about the kids – they can stay at my parents while we just enjoy sometime with one another. I booked the whole thing and I didn't get travel insurance so please don't say no."

It had been attempting something like this that demonstrates to Stacy he really cares. He's remained through this therapy for weeks and now he wanted to reconstruct everything Stacy thought she was about to lose.

It had been decided much earlier than today that he would go on and prepare something like this. His mind was set and it was set on one thing and one thing only. The ice cold blue orbs of his were directly pointed in her direction. Soon after, his soft lips pressed up against her sweet plump ones. When pulling away from one another, she offered the sweetest grin as did he.

Randy was in love with Stacy and sharing this one kiss was another way of reassuring him that it was okay. It was okay. Everything was okay and it felt amazing to know that.

"It's like I see high school Randy and Stacy," The portrayal of the couple at this very moment had been the same way she had once seen the pair, almost fourteen years ago.

Stacy offered a chuckle in response to Victoria's comment. Her purse did some odd shaking right then and there while it lied onto her foot. Randy and Victoria engaged into conversation when Stacy slipped her hand into her purse to pull out her cell.

_One new message, _It read across the screen.

It was a private number. She hadn't seen this number ever before. Her finger traced over the 'Ok' button and applied pressure onto it, revealing a message written for her.

_I'm sorry I'm the one who has to show you this._

Stacy couldn't make much sense of the message since she hadn't had the slightest idea of who this could be. It wasn't until a frightening image appeared following the words she had just read.

"..So I think there's supposed to be a high school reunion next year and I…" He suddenly stopped.

His eyes crawled over to Stacy, who had risen from her seat and continued to stare intently at the phone's bright screen.

"Stacy, what's the matter?"

Nothing had appeared through her lips yet. Her eyes were still focused onto the screen and her hand trembled. Her arm collapsed to the side as her eyes lay staring into the open space. Victoria even began to ponder on what was going on with Stacy.

"What's going on Stacy? What the hell happened?"

Slowly her blank eyes formed a glare once coming into contact with Randy's. She slowly brought the telephone up and the screen positioned right between Randy's eyes and he saw an image. An image of two people; himself and Dawn Marie in a tight embrace.

He had no words. Speechless – Randy Orton was speechless for the first time in his life. As Stacy placed the phone down to her side yet again, Randy positioned himself right before her and rested his arms right above her shoulder tops. His eyes looked directly into hers – which had begun to get watery.

"No! N-No," He began to stutter his words trying to come to terms that there was a photograph of Dawn Marie and himself on Stacy's phone. He could see the date the photograph was taken. It read yesterday's date.

"That picture – that picture.. Stacy, you've got to believe me," He cried out in desperate measures to get her to listen as her blank stare continued, "This picture is not what it looks like. This picture was never taken yesterday. This never happened. I said I wouldn't speak or see Dawn and I haven't. Stacy, you believe me right?"

Victoria watched in grief, seeing two people she thought she had helped but it was now a clear cut picture; there was no way to help them anymore.

"This must have been put together. This never happened. You believe me don't you? For the past few weeks, we've learned and talked about trust and you said you trust me so trust me now Stacy. Trust me now!"

The position she had been placed in was difficult. Photographic evidence of the two was right before her and Randy has lied several times prior to this. Who in their right mind would believe him now? She shouldn't.

"Stop – just please stop," Said Stacy weakly. Her heart felt weak. Her body felt like it was collapsing away because it was just so empty. It was so empty and disfigured because of all of this.

"I can't handle this anymore. My heart has been through enough over the past year and I honestly, cannot deal with it. I just can't. It's wore and torn into pieces. I'm sick of this all. Everything. The lies. The deceit. I can only take so much and this is clearly enough."

"No! I've come too far for this to be completely destroyed. That photo isn't real. Someone must have done something to it but that never happened. Stacy, I just want to know if you believe me. If you believe me – just tell me you believe me, please?"

The cold tear came down her cheek, followed by another coming from the opposite eye. It was difficult to breathe at the moment as well as it transferred over to sobbing at this point.

"I don't believe you."

The one answer he just didn't want to hear came through her lips and it crushed Randy's heart to hear his own wife believes something else.

"Now, if you excuse me – I think it's a good idea that I leave," Stacy took a hold of her purse and walked over to the door. Holding onto the door's beam, her body turned around one final time and gazed right into Randy's eyes – one final time before she exited the room completely.

Victoria didn't know what to do right now as she watched Randy collapsed right onto the couch and his face collapsed right into the palm of his hands. Victoria decided it would be a good idea to offer a shoulder for him to weep on. Coming across to the couch, Victoria consoled the individual.

While she comforted him, all that could haunt Randy's mind was that everything he has had is now gone. Everything is gone and it will probably be impossible for any of it to come back. Not after this. It was over for him.

* * *

The students – just the juniors actually – had flooded the Flower Garden, an event venue for large occasions, right off of Santa Monica Boulevard to take part in the ring ceremony. The ladies had been dressed in red dresses to signify that they are Juniors while the guys stuck to black suits, with a red tie to – like the ladies – signify that they are Juniors as well.

With the ceremony coming to a close, the students witness their principal, Stephanie McMahon come forward with one final address.

"Students, now that our delightful class of 2010 has left us, it is now your turn to be the ones to guide our school and set the example. You all are now seniors and should be extremely proud that all of you had made it far. I and the entire faculty are proud of you all and we all want to wish all you – seniors now – to continue to succeed and exceed expectations because you are from West Beverly and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I know present to you all the class of 2011."

A sudden outburst of cheer erupted through the hall. Seniors, they were all finally seniors. Relatives and friends, who had also joined the event, continued to applaud the students on their achievement tonight.

While the event began to clear away, Eve was quick enough to join but Kelly and Maryse as they gazed down on the maroon colored ring. Of course, Maryse had been the first one to comment on it.

"I really wished it was a diamond ring. It would give me more of a reason to actually carry onto this pesky little thing," With her finger tips, she'd polish over the gem, "But I suppose the memory and meaning of it is a little more important."

"And here I thought Maryse was just a materialistic brat; she's actually looking at the more meaningful side of it all. I have to say that I'm pretty surprised," Always there to give a smart comment was Kelly. You could always count on her to say something.

"I like it," Unlike Maryse, Eve believed the ring was nice and what would she really expect from a high school ring? A rare jewel from the caves in Asia? This will do, "I think I might actually wear it on a more regular basis. It goes nice with my nails tonight."

Maryse's mind wasn't really set on the ring. Only one person was trapped her mind, who said he'd be here tonight, but had yet to show. It hurt, she wasn't going to lie about that since it was practically the only reason she had been looking forward to all night. Just to see him was enough for her. She didn't need a ring. She didn't need a damn thing.

"None of you have seen Ted right? He told me he was going to come but I haven't seen him yet. Did any of you see him at all?"

In unison, the two of them nodded negatively. An annoyed sigh uttered through her lips and he eyes played binoculars in hopes of finding him in the crowds of students around him.

Was he hiding? Or did he just lie? The second choice was making more sense to her at the moment.

"I think I'm going to go look for him. I'll meet you guys over at the hotel right. You guys are going to the after party?"

Eve grinned, "Yeah, Kelly and I are going. So are Evan and Cody. We'll meet you there."

Once Eve had responded, Maryse walked into the crowd of students in hopes of finding him while Kelly and Eve stood by one another. They both of them knew that Maryse was crazy for Ted; now they feared she was a little more than just crazy for him.

"That girl is crazy in love but as if she's happy, I'm happy," Kelly noted in a comment on her friend's behalf, "I just wish the two would already seal the deal and get this show on the road. It's been way too long and way too many graphic stories on what she plans on doing to him."

Shocked a bit, Eve smirked, "Don't tell me she told you stories on how she plans to have sex with him already?"

"Heard it. I've heard it so many times that I think it repeats in my mind constantly. Not for the sake of our minds and health but for her own sake, I want the two to get this over with."

"Well, I've got to go meet with my parents for a second. I have to let them know that I'm going out but I'll text you when I'm done and we could head over there – okay?"

A simple nod in response to Eve's statement and she quickly ran off and left Kelly by herself.

From a distance, Cody kept her eyes right onto Kelly. They didn't leave her beautiful figure. A chill ran up his spine and across his arms. Those tiny hairs on his arms shot up similar to needles. They she was, standing there and she never looked so beautiful before. The gentle curls rested on her body and her skin was smoothly tanned all over.

This sudden attraction to Kelly had completely come out of the woods. The younger sister of Torrie Wilson was always a wonderful friend and confidant to Cody. The perfect person to just talk to and someone you could really depend on. He knew that if no one else was there for him, she'd be there.

Being alone was odd for him. Since freshmen year, he'd always have somebody. Whether it was just a fling or a girlfriend, he always had someone. Now, he didn't have Kelly. His best friend had her and it just made this whole thing that much more difficult. How could he even like his own best friend's girlfriend? He was basically betraying Evan, without him even knowing it but still felt miserable about it. To want something you know you can't have is difficult.

With Evan in the picture, Cody wanted to avoid any kind of problems. If his secret had to be concealed forever, then so be it. There was much too valuable at stake here and he couldn't risk it.

For now, his feelings for Kelly will stay where it has been for a month now – in his heart and nowhere else.

Evan appeared at his side and the first thing he noticed was the large grin across his face. Cody had never appeared this happy before. His eyes hadn't move and when Evan got close enough to Cody to see where he was directing his attention to, he noticed Kelly standing their alone.

What had come across Cody, Evan didn't know about. The thought was of this all was a bit more surprising than it was. Evan thought that Cody would still be dealing with his breakup from Eve but now it appeared much differently.

Cody was over Eve. Cody had his eyes set on something else and Evan didn't want Cody to have any of it.

"Come on dude," Abruptly Evan smacked Cody's shoulder and nudged him forward, "Let's get with Kelly and Eve and we can head over to the party."

He had lost his concentration on Kelly when he was abruptly smacked by Evan. But before he knew it was over, Kelly had already made his way over to the both of them. His smile came right back on and again, he couldn't stop thinking about what he couldn't have.

Not too far off, Cody wasn't the only one who couldn't keep his eyes off of Kelly.

* * *

The evening rolled by and once the students had departed the venue it had gotten much quieter. She was the only lingering individual there sitting in a sole chair before the stage. Now with another school year completely, Torrie had to look forward to many different things. The two months given to her would be spent wisely with trips, barbeques and the Pacific Ocean. If only she had someone to share the time with, other than her two children.

There would only be one person she'd want to spend her time with. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found – perhaps still across the country for all she knew.

The attempts to get John back had failed. It was upsetting – not just for her – but for their two children. So many children have to deal with a parent's separation and she wanted absolutely none of that. If her letter wasn't clear enough, than what was?

What was done was done and now it was up to John. The decision was in his hand and no one else's. If he wanted all of this to work, he'd come back – if he didn't, he wouldn't show up. Simple answer to a simple question.

_Why am I still here? I have kids, don't I? _Once she had discovered that she was alone and that this place was about to close any second now, Torrie elevated up to her feet and journeyed down the center of the seats to the exit. Her heels made the loudest clamping noise in the world but that would stop. She'd stop. She stop dead in her tracks.

The image presented before her couldn't be real. Torrie thought she was seeing some sort of mirage if anything. Her eyes saw a mirage but her heart so something differently.

"It looks like you just saw a ghost or something."

He said it. Torrie's facial expression could only be described in the same way he had said it.

"Well you've been hiding like one for quite some time.

John smirked. He stepped further closer to her and eventually, he was only a mere few feet away from his wife. His hands dug into his pocket and he bit down on his lip, "Sorry to make such a grand entrance like this but I figured I'd surprise you this way."

Surprise after surprise, it was getting out of hand, "Please call before. Last time you surprised me I completely forgot that I had been dating someone and you saw where all of that led us, right?"

With the past behind, his laughter would be a response thought he didn't exactly like what was going on but the past is the past and it's going to stay like that.

"I did some thinking and I figured out what I want in life," I had all come down to one final decision and he figured out what he wanted to do with his life. Though he was already thirty two years old, you'd usually figured this out earlier in life and not this late, "Though it sounds silly that now a man of my age figures out what he wants to do with his life, it's better late than never."

"Then what do you want John? What do you want to do with your life?"

Stalling was his way of keeping Torrie on his toes. He loved to do it before his big revelation, "I've decided I wanted a normal life. I want to live a normal life like any other ordinary human being. I deserve too."

It wasn't exactly the answer she wanted to hear but somewhat, she was content with his decision but still. She wanted to hear her name. Her children's names. She wanted to hear I love you through his lips.

"Everyone wants a normal life. I want a normal life. You want a normal life. It's on everyone's agenda to live a normal life just some people would want more."

"If you'd let me finish, I would continue what I was saying," She managed a nod and John's smile grew along with his dimples, "I wanted to say I wanted a normal life – but not alone. I want a normal life with you."

Music to her ears – what John had decided to do was exactly what she had always wanted. It had never changed.

"I want a normal life with you, Nathan and Ella. That's all I want. I'd like us to be a family again."

The emotion was taking a toll on Torrie. It's been a long time coming – a really long time coming for this and it had all finally paid off. Not managing to put together a few words, Torrie needed to feel embraced so all she did was strolled straight ahead and draped her arms around John's body. Her head relaxed against his chest, where the sound of his thumping heart could be overheard.

Accepting the blonde in his arms, his hand would maneuver itself around her blonde fluorescent curls. John's chin came crashing down onto her head and the strawberry scent of her hair flowed into his nose. Life was back to normal, finally.

Pulling away from the hug, John caught Torrie right on her lips and held her tightly. The union they'd been waiting for so long had finally come through. Their lips stayed intertwined in passion. After ending their heated kiss, John took a hold of Torrie's hand.

"Ready to start our normal life together?"

Torrie curved up a smile, "No more mistakes okay? No more problems. I'm willing to forget everything that has happened just so we could focus on each other and our family. We've been through too much for this to be ruined again. I'm not going to lose you again."

"You never lost me Babe – I was always here."

It was the sweetest words any girl could have heard.

* * *

If the devil had taken form on this earth, it must have been in the shape of Dawn Marie. The horns must have been hidden in her thick chocolate brown hair.

Dawn Marie stared at her computer screen, while her red wine swished around her glass. An image opened up against computer screen – one that she found quiet fulfilling and amusing. It was a copy of the photograph that had been sent to Stacy's cell phone earlier in the day.

She didn't know if her plan had really worked but just to see the photo and the look on Stacy's face after Randy had changed was just amusing for her. Not a bone in her body felt some sort of remorse. She was completely fine with destroying them. After all, she only had her heart set on one of them.

Sipping on the sweet red win, her hand strolled over to the mouse and on the screen, she clicked 'Undo' two times and it would be revealed that the photo was indeed a fake – it was a photo shopped picture by putting together two different photographs. She only added the date to make it more realistic.

She was evil. Dawn Marie should be known as Devil Marie.

In the midst of celebrating her conniving plan – which she hoped was a success – her apartment door had received a knock on the door. Once at the door step, she peaked through the eye hole and noticed she had a visitor, one she was looking forward to seeing at her doorstep for a long time.

The door opened and presented forth was Randy Orton – reeking of alcohol, from his head to his toes.

"Randy, what are you doing here?" Giving off her most fake attempt to greet the man, Dawn had to play it off that she knew everything was fine.

"No, nothing's fine," His tone was quiet vulgar and loud. Without an invitation, Randy just entered himself – quiet sloppy like – and sat right on the couch. Soon his face would crash into the palm of his hands, "I completely messed up. I'm done. Stacy and I are finished. She doesn't trust me."

"Honey," As she shut the door, she joined him on the couch to offer a shoulder to cry on, "What happened with you and Stacy? You know you could tell me. You could tell me anything."

His red beat eyes looked forward into Dawn's eyes and soon crashed down back to his palms as he revealed more details, "We had therapy today. Our last one and it went so well until she got a picture. Some picture of you and me together, which I never remembering taking at all. She completely flipped. She didn't believe me when I told her someone had set this up."

"Oh honey," On the outside, she exhaled compassion and sadness but in the inside she was joyful. Her plan had worked. Randy and Stacy were done.

"I spent the rest of the day trying to find her but I couldn't. She had completely just disappeared. I've tried calling her, trying to call her parents and Torrie but I got nothing. Dawn, I've lost her and she's gone. I'm never going to get her back."

"I'm going to go make you something to drink. You're more than welcome to stay here with me."

As she left Randy to be alone, Dawn entered her kitchen. A smirk was printed across her face and she thought that it may never be wiped away. Was it wrong to feel proud about what she'd done? A part of her did feel bad – a very little part – but the rest of her was excited. Randy was now basically hers for the taking and she was going to take him tonight. No more time to waste, Randy was hers.

Inputting a glass on the table, she took out some juice and tossed it the cup, just about halfway full. Next, she had reached for her cabinet and pulled out a set of pills. She dug deep inside and pulled out the white capsule and tossed it right into the drink. It would slowly fizzle away and infect the drink.

Looking at the container she'd taken the capsule from, it had read Rohypnol – also known to the world as the date rape drug and Dawn had plans on using it tonight to the fullest extent.

* * *

Once in the quiet hotel room, overlooking the large festivities that were going on down below in the courtyard, Maryse made wonderful use of the champagne she had gotten.

Done with now her second glass, her hand inched closer to the hotel telephone to order another bottle though the one she had already had wasn't finished but that could be taken care of quickly. Before she could even know it, it would be gone. Alcohol had begun to flood her veins.

The noise of the music and chattering quickly annoyed the blonde and angered her further on her already bad night. Shutting the sliding door and swooshing the curtain to the side, the senior of West Beverly needed her privacy at the moment.

The whole Ted DiBiase fiasco was a complete and utter mess. It was a lost cause. It could be what you call today – a fail.

Somewhere, through the whole situation, she felt that there was something; that there had been some sort of spark that lite up. It may have sparked but it never managed to stay lite, like she had always hoped too.

The signs were everywhere. Maryse gave him signs and so did he but it never transferred over properly. There was always some sort of miscommunication or bad timing. Nothing ever went right for them and it made Maryse contemplate that maybe this was never meant to be? That Ted and she were never meant to be together and it was just one of those things that you go through and move on.

But to move on would be complicated and challenging and Maryse wasn't ready. When you have your heart set on something and it's suddenly crushed, it's hard to get passed it. It isn't easy and it's not something you just get over with in the matter of a few hours.

The bottle of champagne had laid on the coffee table and with her primp hands; she'd pour herself yet another glassful of the gold colored substance. Her eyes would stare at the bubbles that were being formed and following, she'd down the beverage and feel the liquid traveling down her throat. It felt blissful.

It was really funny. She was alone. She'd never been alone like this or felt this way before. This night was supposed to be special. Something in her mind said, _this is the night Maryse_, but that brain cell must have been wrong or miscalculated something. This was not the night. There wouldn't be any night.

Her foot tapped gently against the old carpet to the music she was hearing outside. Banging emerged against her door and when she walked over; she'd opened the door and would be blown away.

Revealing behind the door was someone she'd been waiting for all night. Ted DiBiase.

The commonly used leather jacket and jeans were a no show tonight but were instead replaced with a black suit and a red tie, that was already loosened up along with the few first buttons undone as well. The hair on top of his head had been neatly prepared and his shoes were spiffed up.

Of course happiness came through but so did anger. What took him so long?

"Ted – you came. I thought you decided to ditch me," Leaving the door, her feet led her to the middle of the room. Her arm folded as the other swirled around the glass in her hand, "Glad you're here," It surely didn't sound like she was that glad.

"It's a long story but I –"

"You know, I can't even begin to describe the hell you put me through sometimes. I can't understand it and I can't understand you," The alcohol must be helping now because normally, Maryse isn't this straightforward, "You're such a complicated person. There's this wall you have up with me and it won't let me pass. It's getting a bit ridiculous now."

All was being said tonight and you could blame it on the alcohol now. Yeah, it's the alcohol's fault.

"For months, you've been driving me insane. The things you say, the things you do, I just don't get it. I don't get you."

"You don't get me? You don't even know me. You don't know who I am. "

"That's absolutely right Ted because you don't let me. I try to open up to you and get you to open up but nothing. I get nothing," Swallowing whatever was left of her drink, she took the glass and placed it down, "And I was looking forward to this all night. When you said you were coming tonight, I was so excited.

"I showed up now so what does it matter to you know? I'm here now."

"It matters to me, Ted! Because you know why? It's because I like you!" That was it. She said it. She finally got it off her chest.

The phrase repeated in his mind. He didn't think she ever really liked him. Heck, nobody in school liked him as a person and to think someone actually likes him like this was even more surprising to him. He had been playing with the feelings that Maryse had for him.

"Yeah, you heard me right. I like you – I like you," She repeated herself, "Everyone tells me what I see in you and I tell them there was something about you that just made me feel this way. I couldn't explain it. I didn't have anything to explain it with. I didn't know anything about you other than you can't do anything with history, you like motorcycles and you fight underground. That's all I know and something about those three things just made me fall for you."

The whole time she'd felt like this and he'd been too stupid to notice a thing. It upset him that he did something like this to her. As much as Ted didn't want to admit it, he felt bad. The jerk he was, he continued to lead on Maryse onto believing something that he wasn't too sure off. He felt terrible.

One deep breath, she continued on, "So here I am, pouring my heart out to you. I hope your happy Ted because I can't deal with this anymore. I have a heart and I can be hurt too so just save me the trouble and tell me how you feel so I can get over this."

It did bug him that he hasn't opened up. His life has been a difficult one with a lot of ups and downs and he was never one to openly discuss it. In fact, he kept a lot of those things to himself because he doesn't trust a lot of people.

Maryse stood there, hands at her side and tears ready to pour out of her eye sockets. Yes or no – that was an answer she was looking for tonight. Heck, it's been an answer's she's wanted to hear since she first met him.

"You want me to open up? You'll get your chance now. I was born on some farm in Virginia and my parents got divorced when I was ten. My mom married a complete asshole afterward so now my little sister and I are stuck with a sick bastard as a stepfather who treats us like crap. I would deal drugs for money so I could buy plane tickets for my sister and I to go back to Virginia to be with our dad. I overdosed on crystal meth one time. I got arrested twice and I don't trust people a lot because I've always been deceived by someone."

Everything was let out.

Ted's life wasn't exactly a picnic at the park. It had been a difficult and long road. Everything that had happened to him explains why he is this way. He'd been hurt so much after his parent's divorce and mother's remarriage. It had all been a key part in how Ted acts and explains why he doesn't really let people in because he'll always end up hurt.

"I don't go out and tell people everything because I fear I'll get hurt. I've been hurt – just like you but in a different way and it leaves a lasting impression on me. It's the reason I am the person I am today and I can't change that. I can't change me and you can't change yourself."

All was out into the open like Maryse wanted it to be. She felt at peace to hear everything he had been through in his young life.

"Ted, I'm really sorry," An apologetic feeling came across her while he stared into his cold eyes. She could still see the hurt in his eyes after everything he had been through. One thing she could offer to him was comfort, with an embrace. Maryse's arms came across his large body and rested there and she said in a lower toned voice, "I'm sorry – maybe I shouldn't have made you open up. I could see why you've been so closed up."

Business hadn't been finished yet. One last thing was resting on his chest. While Maryse continued the embrace, Ted pushed her away gently and he looked directly into her eyes, "And there was one more thing I have to say."

While separated, Ted's hand fitted right into Maryse's smooth hand. Surprised but even more surprised when his grip had gotten much tighter, "I – I like you too."

A grin appeared across her lips when she heard what she wanted to hear for so long. They shared the same feelings for one another. The look in his eyes, she knew he wasn't lying. The way he was acting and now this revelation all made more sense than it ever did before. The two were in the same boat.

Still not a word had been said since his revelation. A strand of hair collapsed over Maryse's forehead, covering her eyes. With his free hand, Ted gently moved it to the opposite side and his hand rested on her shoulder. His thumb would glaze her cheek and their eyes wouldn't move from their position. The smell of his cologne flooded her nostrils and the sweet scent of her perfume came through his senses.

As he looked down at the beautiful woman, he couldn't help but think that this was it. It had only left them one last thing to do and this was it. His head lowered down and he positioned himself right before her. They shut their eyes slowly and their lips soon collided with one another in an instant.

A rush of passion endured through their bodies. As their lips moved in motion with one another, Ted's hands would rest on her waist and Maryse would take her arms and wrapped them around her sturdy neck, pulling them closer together.

Very slowly, the two would pull apart and look at one another. Maryse would offer some words, "Do you want _us_ to happen or is this just a onetime thing? That's the last question I promise to ask."

The answer could have gone either way. Normally, if Ted didn't care he keeps it as a onetime thing and nothing else. With Maryse, he saw the future much differently. He saw the future with her and nobody but her.

"_Us_ had begun."

Another grin came across her lips when she heard an answer she'd loved to hear. The grin was soon covered up again with his lips this time. The two continued their interaction and it slowly lead to the unoccupied bed that was set for them. Ted gently placed Maryse down and laid with her. Their lips had yet to be removed but not their clothing. Her hands tugged on his tie and soon the buttons of his shirts started to peel off and the zipper on her dress was being pulled down.

Their lips were in separable for the time being and any thought of their previous argument had flooded out of her mind.

* * *

**A/N: **Chapter 22 has arrived - many thanks to those how reviewed. You don't understand how happy you've made me and this Chapter is for you!  
I'll be on Vacation on Sunday so this may be the final update for the next two or so weeks.  
Please take the time and review. It is always greatly appreciated.  
Thanks! :)


	23. Burn

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty Three_ - Burn

It had been a while since she had ever felt anything like this. The fixation on her heart brought something to Maryse that she hadn't been able to have with anyone else; Happiness.

It had certainly been a very long time since she'd been able to find someone very dear to her and after months of searching – he showed up in the form of Ted DiBiase. Nothing could ruin her moment – just nothing at all.

The pair had returned to the backyard, where the party was still in continuation even though it was already about three in the morning. Nothing certainly stopped the students of West Beverly from having a wonderful time.

Lights buzzed, entertaining music blared and happiness exerted off the faces of the young souls.

She couldn't get enough. Maryse's hands were always traveling somewhere around Ted's body and Ted himself couldn't control himself. When you wanted something for so long, you can't help to keep your hands off of it. To only make a perfect moment even more perfect, Ted turned to Maryse. Eye to eye, he slowly came in and pushed his lips onto her sweet tasting ones. A kiss hadn't felt this beautiful since – she couldn't think of the last time she ever had a perfect kiss. This one had to be the one.

As he released her from his grip, a grin came across his lips, "I wish I could kiss you all day. I wish I never had to stop."

"Well, you really don't have to stop," The turn was hers now and she laid a kiss onto his lips, "We can keep going if you like," And she repeated it again, "Because I can go all day."

He managed to release some laughter before it was his turn. His fingers laid planted her cheeks, feeling the silky smooth skin before he laid another kiss her. It was even better than the first one he placed onto her lips.

"So you're going to stay here right? I'll head home and grab my bike and pick you up in about twenty five minutes – sounds good to you?"

"Definitely sounds great. Just call me when your outside and don't keep me waiting too long. I think I'm going to miss you too much," Sweetly she asked him, "Plus, you keep bragging about taking me somewhere. I'm on my little toes dying to know what it is."

"I told you – it's a surprise. If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?"

"Fine, I suppose I'll wait instead of beating it out of you."

"I won't be long," One final time before he departed, he gave his girl one last kiss goodbye; "I'll be back before you know it."

As he departed, Maryse couldn't help but thinking about him. Honestly, a guy has never made her feel like this. It was like some sort of control had come over her. Ted had this control over her heart. For now, the beginning of their relationship was smooth sailing and hopes of it staying like this for a long time were high.

She had been right this whole time. Somewhere deep down inside, she knew he liked her. It couldn't be described but she knew it. And now look where they are now – she had finally got him through it all. Life couldn't be better – and nothing was going to ruin this.

The party rolled on. Drinks were being rolled out and waiters had been dispersed handing out drinks and Hors d'œuvres to everyone else. A little Latina pried her way through the crowd, grabbing a drink from one of the waiters, before joining Maryse by her side, "So, things worked out really good with you and Ted I guess?"

Her smile was still fixated as her mind had imprinted the image of Ted inside. Knocking herself out of the trance, she managed to respond to Eve's question – which she was still surprised to hear, "Eve, he's such an amazing guy. He's just – he's just about everything I want and everything I need."

"How did everything go with him? You guys were gone for a pretty long time."

"Well, he showed up to the hotel room and I just let everything out – everything I was feeling and I finally managed to tell him how I felt. He hasn't had the best life after everything he's told me. He would deal out drugs and been arrested before. He's parents are divorced and now he has an asshole as a stepfather and he tries to get back to Virginia to see his dad with his younger sister. Everything made sense after that. Everything had plugged like a jigsaw puzzle."

"So basically he's been acting really anal and too himself because of this all – his whole past and present makes him who he is today?"

"Bravo Eve, bravo. Everything made sense and he trusted me enough to tell me everything," It definitely felt wonderful that Ted could trust her with something like that, "He hasn't told anyone else but he told me and it makes me feel – really trustworthy."

Even though they've had their differences and problems, Eve could admit that she felt really happy for Maryse. Life hasn't been extremely sweet to her this year and life was finally turning around for her after so long.

"Again, I'm so happy for you."

After this had been plugged in, Eve was quick to notice something. Maryse had Ted and Kelly had Evan. Who did she have? She did have Cody but that certainly wasn't working out to well so who would she have now? With the thought of this in her mind, a frown appeared onto her lips.

The French Canadian was speedy to recognize the change in facial expression on Eve, "Something wrong Eve?"

She could tell her but she didn't want to ruin her mood or anything like that. Maryse was seen to be happy – the happiest she's been in a really long time, "I don't want to say – it's really not important plus you're in such a great mood and I don't want to ruin it."

Pausing for a brief moment, Maryse turned to Eve and smile, "You're my friend – you can tell me anything no matter what so say whatever you want. I'm going to listen no matter what."

_I suppose it wouldn't hurt. _Eve bit down on her lip before she began to speak, "It's just, you have Ted now and Kelly has Evan and basically, I'm alone. I don't have anybody. I'm all alone and miserable."

It was kind of like everything had reversed. Maryse felt lonely because she didn't have anyone else before and Eve was the one who was happy and had Cody but now the tables have turned now. Eve was lonely, Maryse was not.

Maryse grazed her arm with her hand, "Honey, you'll find someone. I mean, you're gorgeous. Who wouldn't want you? You'll find someone. There's so many single guys here like Wade Barrett – he's cute. Maybe you could talk to him?"

"His accent is confusing. I can't understand what he's saying sometimes."

"Alex Riley – He broke up with Courtney a few weeks ago so he's single and I heard he's an amazing kisser – well, not as amazing as Ted but he's a nice guy too."

"But you must have forgotten how he's dating his mirror. The two are completely inseparable," Stated Eve, "Face it; there's no guy here for me. I think I'm going to call it a night and just head home and make a date with a bowl of ice cream and a nice movie."

A generous idea popped into Maryse's mind when she heard of Eve's plans for the night, "I've got a good idea if you're interested."

Eve rose up her eyebrow and looked curious, "Something better than a depressing movie and ice cream?"

"Much better. I got a hotel room here on the twelfth floor and it's complete with king size bed, Jacuzzi and a mini bar. Why don't you head up there and you can stay there? You can order yourself a massage and maybe some room service," Pulling out of her purse, she handed her the key, "Here! Head up there and just go and relax. Forget about guys and enjoy yourself. It's on me."

It had been one of the most generous things she had ever done in her life.

"Thank you, You don't know happy you've made me. I'm going to head up there right now," Eve gave Maryse a friendly hug, "You have fun tonight and tell me everything tomorrow – I want all the details."

"Definitely."

As Eve headed upstairs to the hotel, Maryse glanced into her purse and noticed her phone wasn't there. _Crap, how is Ted going to call me? _Frantically, Maryse began to look for her phone as it was her only communication with Ted.

* * *

As the night progressed, nothing was getting better for Stacy. What did she find out today? That her husband was nothing but a liar.

By herself in the dark living room, Stacy stared out into the darkness and thought about what direction her life was going in. Randy couldn't come back into her life anymore – he was done and over with. The lies were too much and fooling her was over with. After today, she was definitely a different person and it was all because of him.

So much anger was building inside of her that she could rip up the couch or flip over the coffee table. How else could she release her anger? As the clock ticked away, her wedding picture laid on the side table. Enclosing it in her hand, she traced her finger over Randy's face and droplets appeared through her eyes and crashed onto the photograph. Her hands trembled and she needed to release everything as soon as she could. Clutching it, she smashed the photograph against the wall and collapsed onto the couch.

Everything was lost. What did she do wrong? Did she really deserve this? What was the point of all of this? To be punished? Life was just so wrong. Everything was completely wrong and it felt as if nothing would be right any time soon.

As she continued to cry, Stacy could feel footsteps coming toward her. Once her body was lifted up, Stacy could see her young daughter Emily – clutching her little bear – standing before her looking extremely worried and concerned for her mother.

"Mommy, what's going on?"

Quickly, she wiped away any tears and took a deep breath before she would address her daughter, "Mommy's fine. Everything's fine honey; it's just this picture of Daddy and me fell on the floor. I have to clean it up and you shouldn't be out of bed."

"I heard the bang and I wanted to see what happens."

Stacy pulled her daughter toward her and she kissed her on the forehead, "Mommy's fine and I was just going to come to bed. You go back upstairs and when I come up, I want to see you sound asleep."

The young girl nodded and did as her mother told her to. She'd follow up the stairs and right back into her bed.

Stacy looked down on the mess she had created and was quick to find a broom and dustpan to pick everything up. In the midst of cleaning everything up, her phone began to vibrate and it had left her a message.

Dropping the broom, Stacy lifted up the phone and she had expected it to be Randy, begging for forgiveness. The message contact was listed as private – similar to what had happened earlier that day when she received the photograph.

Her finger trembled over the 'Okay' button but she accepted – and after that she wished she would have not opened up the message.

_Oh, Randy.._

A video rolled of Randy – in another woman's bed – and the two were uncontrollable as they continued to take everything a step further.

Her heart had completely sunken. It crashed to the bottom of the floor and completely splattered everywhere. Randy was with another woman and it was right there, unfolding right in front of her. As the video continued on, the face of the other woman was becoming clearer and clearer.

It was Dawn Marie was that laying beneath Randy, enjoying every second of it and even smiling directly into the camera.

This meant one thing and one thing only – they were officially over.

The video continued and Stacy couldn't bear to hold in her sadness any longer. She shut her phone down as she had seen enough and couldn't watch another second of that. It was hurting her too much.

What else could she do now? She's lost Randy and soon, she thought she was going to lose her mind with the role she'd been on. Eventually, she knew Randy was going to come back here and beg for forgiveness but she wasn't going to have any of that. No begging and no convincing. It would be best if she just leaves and never come back. For the sake of her sanity and wellbeing, it was time to leave Beverly Hills and go somewhere Randy couldn't find her or the children.

Of course, she wouldn't leave Emily and Connor here. Randy had thrown away their chance at repairing their marriage – over her dead body would she give him the chance to have a relationship with their children.

Stacy had managed to bring her weak body to the beginning of the staircase but once there an idea had popped right into her mind. She was left with a video of closure and maybe now it was her turn to leave something for Randy when he decides to return. Back down the stair case, she located the video camera and set it up right before her couch.

Sliding in the video tape and pressing record, Stacy took a seat in front of the camera and prepared herself for what would be her final and only goodbye to Randy.

* * *

_Could she be any more beautiful?_

Of course, Cody was thinking about someone really special. His eyes were glued onto the blonde's body as she danced with a few other girls. But for now, It was only a dream. What could happen if Kelly was with Evan? Nothing could happen.

Evan was certainly a lucky guy. He had her, so what else could he want? While Cody remained at the bar having a drink, Evan came forward resting his hand on his back. Turning his neck around, Cody was shot right back into reality, "Oh what's up man? Didn't see you around for a while."

"Zack was showing me how much he could drink so now he's passed out in one of the hotel rooms. He sure showed me."

Cody offered a laugh as his gaze at Kelly strengthened. He dug his hands deep into his pocket as his smile grew and Evan's suspicion grew. Evan cleared his throat for a moment before speaking, "So Cody, when were you going to tell me you had a thing for my girlfriend?"

Literally, Cody froze. Of course he'd quickly snap out of it. If he had stayed frozen like that, it would have just answered his question right off the bat, "Dude, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a thing for Kelly."

Evan knew he was lying and he nodded his head in disapproval, "You don't have to lie man. I've seen how you've been looking at her. You can't keep your eyes off of her. Just admit it dude."

"There's nothing to admit. Kelly is just my friend, she's my best friend's girlfriend and my friend – she's just my friend," The nervousness was clear in his throat and Evan could sense he was lying.

"And you continue to lie. Why can't you just man up to it? You're this tough football player and you can't even man up to me, your own "best friend" that you call me."

"Evan, I don't like Kelly."

"Just own up to it Cody – own up to it."

The two were now facing each other with Evan shooting a glare and Cody looking a bit nervous, "I don't like Kelly – there's nothing to own up to so I don't get why you're coming at me like this."

Evan nodded slowly and faced Cody once again, "I remember before I started dating Kelly, I couldn't stop looking at her and the way you're looking her now was just the same way I did when I first liked her."

"Evan, don't. Just let it go."

It was all he needed just to back up his original thoughts from before, "So you were just going to lie to me and let this go on? I thought we were friend's man and you're just going to tell me to let it go. My friend likes my girlfriend – what the hell am I supposed to do? Let it happen – no."

"I am your friend but if this gets out of hand, we can't be friends – it would be too weird."

"A little too late for that."

And at just the right time, Kelly came floating by with a big thick smile over her face. She came right between the two's showdown, "Guys, you will not believe what I just heard. I heard Zack is completely passed out in a hotel room and a bunch of girls are writing on him," She released a giggle before she noticed the tension between Evan and Cody, "Guys, what's going on?"

As Kelly watched in distress, her head turning back and forth as the two would speak. Evan rattled on, "Come Cody, let it out."

"Evan, drop it."

"Come on Cody – you want everyone to think your tough and you can't even just admit it," Evan started to get much louder and vulgar, "Man up!"

"Fine!"

Enough was enough and Cody just couldn't bear the harassment any further. What a better way to come clean than right now – with Kelly an only few inches away from him. His head turned over to Kelly. He locked his eyes with Kelly and began, "Kelly, I like you."

Evan was a bit relieved to hear the truth come out but angry as hell that his best friend is into his girlfriend. Kelly didn't know how to really take this. Looking right up at Ethan, it was almost like she wanted to cry thinking about what this whole thing could do to the three of them.

Cody couldn't bear to stand there any longer. Taking one last look at Kelly, he walked away and decided it was best to leave the situation.

It had hit him that his secret was out. What would come through all of this? He could lose so much – and so far, he's lost Evan for sure. He lost a friend and now Kelly could be next. He knew if this would ever get out it would cause more harm than good. His world was turning upside down at this point.

As he continued walking toward the exit of the hotel, he was suddenly stopped when he heard his name being called in the empty hallway. He turned around and could only see one person making his way toward him – Kelly. She was gravely concerned about him.

Kelly looked right into Cody's blue eyes and she could see that he must of have extremely hurt after this whole thing and she wanted some answers herself – she deserved that, "Cody, what was that all about? I mean, you like me but you're like one of my closet friends here. This is just so –"

Cody couldn't control himself any longer, now that he has Kelly all to himself for that moment. He just didn't want to repeat what he already said but show it instead so he decided to interrupt her little interview and pulled her into a kiss. Cody held Kelly's neck and gently gave her a soothing and passionate kiss.

In the midst of the kiss, she couldn't lie to herself and say she didn't like it. She didn't want it to end. As for Cody, it was more like something he finally got a chance to do. Something he's wanted to know what it feels like and to say the least, it felt amazing.

As their lips parted away, Kelly stared right into his eyes and took a quick step back, "This can't happen.."

"It can Kelly – it's already happened. Let me ask you something, why did you come back here and follow me instead of being with Evan? If you didn't care about me, you'd be with your boyfriend – not with me. If you didn't feel something, you wouldn't be here."

As Kelly heard thoroughly what he had just said, he did make some sense but she couldn't just jump to conclusions and believe what he says. It was up to her to decide what she wanted; did she want to stay with Evan or cross over and be with Cody? But it was all too confusing. The thought of dating Cody would be awkward but something inside wasn't thinking that. The idea didn't even sound bad at all.

"I've got to go. I need to think. I just need to get out of here," Kelly's final words repeated into Cody's mind as the blonde ran off from him. She disappeared. Her mind needed some rest and it needed to make a huge decision that would not only affect her, but everyone around her.

And she wasn't going alone – wherever she was even going.

* * *

His eyelids began to flutter open and he couldn't figure out where he was laying down. His arms stretched around and he could feel the smooth sheets. It wasn't his bed; his was much larger. The room was unfamiliar. The light was seeping through the door of bedroom. Soon, the door would come open and in came a woman only draped in a white rob.

He couldn't exactly make it out – it was probably the drug in him that he wasn't aware about that was making him see things.

"Stacy?" A smile glowed onto his face, "You came back, you came back to me."

As the object gotten closer, the features became much more defined. As soon as the brown locks were noticed, it was there and then he noticed that it wasn't Stacy he was talking to. It had been Dawn Marie.

"Dawn?"

The devil in disguised smile and sat beside Randy, raking his cheek, "Well, someone is up from a nice sleep. What's the matter Randy?"

Noticing that he only had on his boxers and in Dawn's bed, it all plugged in, "We didn't. No, we didn't," He sternly said as his eyes grew much larger. He couldn't have slept with Dawn Marie, he just couldn't have, "Dawn, we didn't do anything right – tell me we didn't do anything!"

Her cocky smirk elevated and it said it all, "Well, we did so something and it was amazing – just pure amazing."

Anger boiled inside of Randy – he really now betrayed Stacy. Abruptly, he jumped off the bed, pushing Dawn aside. It was a mini freak attack he was having and Dawn was growing a little concern, "Randy is everything okay?"

"No!" He shouted, "Nothing's right. We slept with each other. I married to Stacy and I slept with another woman. I can't believe it."

"But you can't say that you didn't enjoy what has happened right?"

Hearing those words, Randy flashed back and tried to remember what happened just a few hours ago. Thinking back, he knew how Dawn was. The woman always wanted to get whatever she wanted and based on the recent events these past few months, Dawn wanted Randy and he knew it. Dawn did something – and he knew it.

"You did something. You did something Dawn and I know it. You tricked me into getting into the bed with you. You did this to me. I would have never slept with you. You did something so just admit it!"

"Just relax Randy and no, I didn't do anything. I didn't do a damn thing. You wanted to hop into bed with me and I didn't stop you."

"You did something! Just tell me what you did!"

With the questions rolling off his tongue and anger beginning to build inside of him, Dawn decided to confess, "Fine! You want the truth and I'll give it to you. Yes, for the past few months I've been trying to rip the two of you apart and you know what, it finally worked right when I sent the nice pretty photograph of the two of us to Stacy. I knew you'd come running to me and it would be the perfect opportunity to finally get what I wanted with a little help from my friend roofies. I drugged you and got you into bed because you just wouldn't shut up about Stacy but I managed to shut you up a different way."

"You bitch…"

"Yeah, I'm a bitch – and a pretty damn good one, if I may add."

Randy's world was crumbling into pieces when he realized all of his problems were because of Dawn. Dawn's the reason why he's like this and why everything has happened but it's his fault for letting it happen. It was just as much Dawn's fault as it was his own. He just needed to get the hell out of here.

Quickly, he tossed on his jeans and t-shirt that was ripped off earlier that night and placed back on his shoes, "I never want to see you again. Never again."

Dawn simply laughed, "You'll be back Randy because face it, you lost Stacy. You lost her a long time ago!"

Hearing Dawn's final words to him, he turned to her and gave her a grim look, "Go to hell, Dawn."

Through her living room, he went right out the front door and quickly rushed to his car and turned on the engine. It was the wee hours of the night, somewhere around three or four in the morning. Randy sped down the streets of Beverly Hills, hoping to get back home in time to see if Stacy could still be there.

The thought of losing Stacy was just killing him and now after his current offence, he truly feared this was the end of his life here. Without Stacy, what else did he have to look forward too? He's lost everything he ever worked for all because of some stupid mistakes.

With his speedometer passing sixty miles per hour on the side streets, he pulled right in front of his driveway, where no car was parked. It already seemed like it was a bad sign of things to come. Exiting his vehicle slowly, he stared up at his home and hoped that inside would be Stacy and his children.

Opening the front door, he could feel the darkness and silence inside the home. Opening up the first light, he already saw no sign of anybody but everything else was in place. Nothing seemed to be moved. He headed upstairs for the bedrooms, first looking into his bedroom and seeing everything wasn't moved and everything stood the same. Next he head into Emily's and Connor's room respectively and didn't see anything – their beds were completely mad and it was like no one even stepped inside of there.

He descended down the stairs and was just about to give up. He reached the living room and on the coffee table was a video tape along with a post it that read 'Play me.' He did what he was instructed to do and placed the video in the VCR and it began to play.

Stacy had appeared onto the screen.

_Slowly, Stacy would begin to push herself to speak, no matter how difficult it was, "Randy, I don't know how else to put this up for you. I just.." It was hard to control herself was just breaking down and she faced the decision with having to do it, "I – I'm just so distraught and confused. I can't do this anymore. I can't deal with this anymore. The lies were too much but this was just the turning point of it all._

Randy would watch as Stacy would get up to her feet and show a video of Dawn and himself in an intimate position. She saw everything – without even telling her and immediately, he knew it was Dawn.

_Stacy pulled away her cell phone that was showing the video and was now visibly upset._

"_Honestly, I always thought we would be together till the end. Ever since high school, we've been together and I couldn't have been happier – until now. I have nothing else to say to you. I don't ever want to see you ever again because it's over Randy. This is really over and this will be the last time you'll ever see me. I'm not coming back to Beverly Hills. Emily and Connor are with me and we're going somewhere where you hopefully will never find us. I've left any kind of communication behind, including my cell phone. There will be no way to contact me. I haven't told anyone, not Torrie, John nor my parents where I am."_

Randy was really losing everything. His life, wife and children were leaving him. Everything was gone and it was all of his fault.

"_Don't come and look for us. I never want to see you again and to show you how serious I am about this, I've taped this over our wedding video. This is it Randy. Your free to do whatever you want. I won't be there to stop you."_

"No Stacy – no!"

"_Goodbye Randy."_

As the video completed, Stacy's face flashed away and the image of the two on the altar was show, reciting their vows, their I do's and their first kiss as a married couple.

She was gone – and she was never going to come back.

* * *

Her night was really turning around. After finishing up a delicious entrée of food, Eve collapsed onto the huge bed and laid there and soon digging her way into the bed. The feeling of the just being able to relax and get your mind off of some things was perfect. Eve could still taste the chocolate mousse in her mouth that she just finished devouring just a few moments ago.

The room was amazing. It was huge. It had some new decorations including Eve's dress and shoes everywhere and in exchange, she choose the robe that came in the room as her attire for the rest of the evening.

She didn't need anyone. She just needed herself for the time being. She didn't need a guy. It was time to not focus on love but focus on life. It's just time to let her be herself, do what she desires and be a normal teenager. Is that too hard to ask for?

In the midst of her thoughts, there was a knock on the door. Once on her feet, she pulled the handle to the door and it happened to be Ted in front of the door. Both were pretty surprised to see one another; Eve a little more.

"You don't look like the rest of my room service. What are you doing here?" Eve asked him, with her eyes traveling up and down his figure, "I bet you're looking for Maryse. She went to go to the bar, I believe. Not a hundred percent sure on that one."

"I've tried calling her and she hasn't picked up. I assumed that she went back up here," Ted noticed the cart of food Eve had previously ordered; "Don't you think you had enough room service. It looks like you definitely had plenty of room service."

The overeating comments weren't exactly being graciously accepted by Eve. As a child, there was a time where she was a bit chubby so comments on weight and food are a little hurtful, especially when it's from someone else.

"I don't really want to hear your stupid comments about what I eat."

What made her just even a little more upset was that Ted wasn't exactly the greatest guy in the world and how he's been a dirtbag to her before. He decided to continue to poke his fun, "Maybe you should call room service and have them bring you a giant cake and you can eat it and lick the plate clean?"

It was truthfully bothering her now and it could show but she didn't just want to give up like this easily. She wanted to fight back and what better way was too pull up his past since he was using that to his advantage.

"Oh excuse me while I eat, let's hope you overdose on crystal meth again and end up arrested for like a third time. We wouldn't want that now wouldn't we?" Eve put an extremely fake tone onto her words.

Ted was growing extremely angry. How in the hell did she figure it out, he didn't know just until he thought about it. Earlier that evening, he let everything out. He told someone everything and that person he told was a liar and untrustworthy. Now he learned something different to the side of Maryse.

"Who told you that?"

"A little birdy I suppose," Eve continued to play his game like it was a card game, she'd keep giving him a different card every time, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to watch a movie and go to sleep so if you'd show yourself to the door, that would be wonderful."

"Ted, are you up here?"

Maryse had reached the floor and Ted was still inside the room. Ted could hear her voice and he really wanted to just get back at Maryse for what she said. He couldn't understand how if this girl felt this certain way for him, why would she go blab to someone some of his secrets right after he had told her? It doesn't make any sense. And if you lied about keeping the secret, what else was she lying about?

Once he looked at Eve his idea would pop open. Without warning, Ted instantly pulled Eve into a deep and passionate kiss right in the middle of their hotel room. Their lips intertwined as Ted could even taste the remints of the chocolate mousse on her lips. At that moment, Eve felt this sudden attraction toward Ted. Something inside of her just instantly lite up and all those other thoughts of Ted had completely disappeared.

Their kiss had continued and it wasn't until someone came in, the two had slowly pulled away from each other to see the figure at the door's frame.

Her legs buckled underneath and her heart was being crushed in the same instant. Emptiness came over her small body. The image she had just witness would forever be etched in her mind. Her supposed boyfriend was there, kissing who happened to be one of her best friends.

This time, it happened to be the first time Maryse let her heart out only to have it broken shortly later. Life wasn't fair.

Though he should feel some sorrow, he didn't – that was until he saw the tears rolling down her cheeks, he had realized he made one huge mistake.

Eve stood silent. How do you tell your friend you just kissed their boyfriend? It's not a yes or no question. Eve did feel extremely terrible about the whole thing. She knew what she did was wrong but a part of her enjoyed those second their lips were together.

Nothing was said yet. Silence filled the thin air.

At this point, Maryse couldn't control herself any longer. Her tears had turned into waterfalls – to explain the extent of how much she was crying. She had yet to say anything until she managed to say something, but it was extremely week.

"Why.. Why me?"

"Listen, Maryse –"

Eve tried to say something but Maryse stopped her before she said anything, "Don't say anything. Just don't say a word."

Maryse looked at the both of them, from head to toe and looked right at Ted, "So was this your whole plan? Get your shot with me and when I'm gone, you run off to Eve. Is that how everything is supposed to be?"

"No, It's not –"

"And you," Maryse said in the darkest tone possible, as it was directed to Eve, "First Cody and now you want a piece of Ted? I don't get why you go straight for someone who's already taken. Is it because you like it? Is it a challenge to get a guy who already has a girlfriend?"

"No, Ted –"

"No. I don't want to hear anything," Eve worried; by the looks of Maryse, she feared Maryse was just going to break down and completely lose her mind.

Maryse slowly backed away and entered the hallway. She looked once more at the two of them and shed her final tears and her final words went something a little like this, "I never want to see the either of you ever again."

And she had disappeared. To get out of their sooner, she raced down the hallway and while turning a corner, she knocked into a side table since she was so distraught and it had fallen to the floor. Not even one look back, she was done. She was sick of being hurt. She was sick of being the victim.

And without her turning back, she didn't even see the mess she had left – including the candles that fell over, setting the wall on fire.

* * *

Kelly sat alone in one of the empty hotel rooms that she had found unoccupied a couple floors up. Her world was a total mess. Everything has went from going good to going completely bad.

One thing she couldn't get over was hearing that Cody actually liked her. It was unbelievable but she felt more as if he was still into Eve but to hear this was shocking to say the least. _What the hell is going on? Why is everything like this?_

Kelly fell back on the bed. She needed a plan. A plan on how she would handle this situation she's in. But she certainly knew that after this, everything was going to be completely different.

Once she had brought herself up, an even bigger shock was going to hit her right then and there. Hearing Cody's revelation was enough but now to see him, this was even worse than what was happening before. This was nothing like what was just happening – by far it was more worse than anything.

"Punk, what – what are you –"

"Surprised to see me honey," A quirky smirk elevated across his lips. Phil Brooks also known as CM Punk was back, "You didn't think you saw the last of me when I was in the courtroom and you watched me been thrown into jail? Well, I'm back baby!"

He had changed since it had been a few months. Much more grizzlier with a longer beard, hair and more tattoos; he looked more trashier than ever.

Her heart began to race and certainly not in a good way. Fear stroke inside the blonde's eyes as she watched a man she once loved and would do anything for. Kelly rose up onto her feet and started to make her way to the door until Punk used his hand to block the door.

"You're not going anywhere, Kel. We've got some unfinished business," Phil pulled her aside, "You know, ever since that day my life has been completely ruined. I lost my life, I lost Maria and I had nothing to live for except rotting in a jail cell for the next twenty years. I really wasn't looking forward to that. But you, you could have warned me and everything would have been fine but it's not. My life is miserable until a few months ago when I got out and I've been looking for you the whole time – but I managed to get my hands on a girl named Savannah and another girl – you might know her. Her name is Eve."

Kelly loud out a soft gasp, when he heard of the two girls he got his hands on. He was the one. He was the one who attacked Savannah and Eve. Punk was the stalker.

"You're the –"

"Stalker, yeah I know. That's the name they decided to give me – the Beverly Hills stalker," Punk popped open a knife and held it right by Kelly's throat, "And I looked for you everywhere but I ended up getting two other girls but you know what they say; third time's a charm, right?"

Kelly was shaking in fear as the knife inched closer to her neck, "What do you want Punk? What do you want from me?"

Creepy like, he started to laugh, "You know what I want from you. I want nothing more than just to see you," He paused for a moment and whispered softly, "Dead."

Her eyes widened in fear. She had to think fast so she quickly stomped down on his foot, releasing her from his grip and ran to the other side of the room. Once he regained focus he tackled her down and lay right on top of her with the knife in his hand.

Kelly hadn't been this scared in her life. Kelly watched the sadistic CM Punk raise the knife above her as his hand crawled over her neck, clutching it and cut off her supply of oxygen, "Kelly, have a nice time in hell!"

When she thought it was over, it wasn't. A sudden force was pushed of her and Punk was sent across the room, knocking out onto the floor. The room had suddenly felt much hotter and began to fill with smoke. Once her eyes had fully opened, she looked up and could see Evan standing before her.

"Evan!"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and was relieved to see him here. Evan held Kelly tightly. Lucky he was to get there just in time, "Come, let's get you the hell out of here. The hotel is bursting into flames."

Evan picked Kelly up and helped her walk to the door. Once at the door, Kelly could feel that she was home free and everything will be okay. But that was all changed when Evan let out a loud cry and collapsed onto the floor. When she turned around, she could just see Punk holding a knife, that was now soaked in blood and that silly little smirk on his face.

"Kelly, the party's just begun and you're going to leave?"

The room began to full even more with smoke making it hard to breath and hard to see. A part of the wall was engulfed in flames. Kelly was now stuck with what she had to do. Evan was injured and couldn't even get up, as he lay in a pool of blood.

"Evan," She cried out, staring at his lifeless body, "You killed him!"

"He's fine. I just sliced up but that's not going to kill him, these flames will burn him alive."

Shattering of windows and the sound of the fire closer than ever was appearing as Kelly backed up into the wall and was completely confused with what she had to do. This must have been the end of the line for him. Debris from the ceiling started to cave in and the floor around Evan caved in, sending Evan into the next floor.

She lost Evan.

"Evan, No!"

"I guess it happened sooner than I thought," Punk pointed out, "Oh well, you'll be joining him now Kelly – you and your little boyfriend can live happily ever after while the two of you burn in hell."

"You're a bastard. A sick and pathetic bastard; you deserved everything that has happened to you. You actually deserve even more than that," Kelly managed to say, in between a few coughs do to the heavy smoke that had engulfed the room, "I hope you know that and if I'm going to burn in hell, you are definitely going to come with me."

"You're funny Kelly."

As Punk was getting closer to Kelly, Kelly had no choice but to be packed up against the wall as she was waiting for her time to come. Phil came closer and closer and Kelly shut her eyes. She was ready.

When she thought she should have been dead already, she heard a crash and when she opened her eyes, she screamed.

"Cody!"

Cody laid on top of Phil and knocked off the knife from his hand. The two were beginning to fight as Cody used his fists, crashing them into Punk's face. Punk would tried to fight back but it was unaffected as the smoke was too much for him. He gave him one last punch, knocking him old cold – for good he hoped – and left the man to rot there. Similar to what happened to Evan, the floor in the hotel room was about to come crashing down. All Cody could do was grab Kelly and rush her out of the room, until the floor came crashing down.

Once out of the room, Kelly looked down at the fiery pit burning below them. He was now definitely gone and he wasn't going to come back.

"Kelly, we've got to get the hell out of here!"

Without saying another word, Cody picked her up and took her through the emergency exit, down the stairs to the ground floor where the party was being held and out onto the streets.

Cody put her down onto the sidewalk and the two watched in horror as the fire department arrived and the flames continued to consume the top four floors of the building. Without any warning, there was a sudden explosion on the twelfth floor, where the fire had begun. It rocked the entire neighbor, setting out car alarms and waking up people.

Kelly was extremely grateful to have Cody be there just in the right time to save her from getting killed. Cody held onto Kelly and she placed his hand on his and said, "Thank you," which he nodded in response.

As the fire department rolled in, followed by ambulances, it had hit Kelly right there. Evan was still in there, severely hurt – or maybe even dead. The thought of losing Evan caused her to let out a huge and loud cry, tears spewed out and she began to cry out his name, "EVAN!" Loudly and she'd repeat herself, "Evan!"

Kelly wonder there for the next moments if he could be actually be dead. Her attempts to get up there and see if she could help was stop by Cody, who pushed her back and said, "You can't go up there – you'll get yourself killed."

And he was right.

But no one knew if Evan was Bourne to live through this.

* * *

**A/N: **Since like ten chapters ago, i looked forward to writing this chapter and i'm extremely pleased with the outcome.  
So, is Evan really gone? Is Phil really gone? Maryse found and lost a love within two chapters and Randy and Stacy, are they really finished? Cody and Kelly kiss? ;) Been waiting for that too.  
To answer a few questions, no there is no life in the hills 4 that will show summer and senior year - that will all be in this story so no new story anytime soon. Next chapter begins their summer.  
I like to think this chapter as a season finale of a TV's season, where i leave you guys on some cliffhangers but they will be answered soon!  
I have a new story named 'All this Time' and it's panning out to be a MIZ/MARYSE/TED fic - or maybe something else - please check it out.  
Please Review as well - all reviews are extremely appreciated :)  
TAKE CARE! xxx :)


	24. Ready, Set, Summer!

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty Four_- Ready, Set, Summer!

Could life get any better than this?

A silver convertible, no school work and the California sun hitting their deliciously already tanned skin? Nope – nothing was better than this.

Doing sixty on the Pacific Coast highway, two single ladies – Nikki Bella and Maryse Ouellet – were heading a little south of Beverly Hills for the summer. How does Laguna Beach sound of the ladies sporting the silver convertible? Not bad at all. Maryse was in control of the wheel, in desperation to get to the destination as quick as she could.

It was summer – it was summer in California so that just changes everything. Bonfires on the beach, late night parties and so much more awaited the two ladies. Excitement filled the air and Nikki was definitely looking forward to spending summer in a beach house that not many of their classmates know about so it will give them the perfect chance to get some R & R before they were forced to return back to Beverly Hills.

With one half of the Bella Twins moving back to Beverly Hills, Nikki was certainly delighted to be back and what perfect way to return than heading away for the entire two months they had? Nothing. Being her first full week back, Nikki wanted to start this return on a wonderful note.

Turning to her side, the choppy ocean crashed against the highway. The palm trees were looking ever so elegant in the wind and the temperature and weather was more than perfect. The summer was looking fantastic and what more to add to the mood than the appearance of 'California Gurls' seeping through the speakers of Maryse's car?

Nikki's hand reached over, turning the nozzle to the left – increasing the volume – and she started to sing herself, "California Girls, we're undeniable. Fine, fresh, fierce, we've got it on lock. West Coast represent – Now put your hands up," And like the song commanded, The Bella tossed her hands in the air, "Ooooh oh ooooh!"

Incapable of holding in her laughter, Maryse had to let it out – still keeping her eyes on the road, "So Nikki, who sings this song? I keep forgetting."

"None other than Katy Perry."

"So could you let her sing it? Thank you." Nikki offered a kind slap onto Maryse's arm, "Hey, I'm driving to drive – we'll end up in the pacific ocean, sleeping with Jaws for the night."

"Can you believe it? Summer is finally here. Summer's here – like I've waited since September third of last year for this day and it's showed up. Thank you Lord!" Unusual for Nikki to praise a higher power – since she believes she's the higher power.

Maryse fixed up her hair, as it was blowing everywhere due to the cover being down – but would soon respond to Nikki's comment, "It feels amazing that I can wake up tomorrow morning and not have to worry about who's homework I'll be copying in the morning or how I'm going to write the notes on my arm so I can cheat on the test. I have two more months to figure that all out."

"But Lucky for that – it's all over until September at least but I really don't want to worry about that now because we've got a beach house – in Laguna Beach – and it's got our name on it all summer long!" And another question was administered into Nikki's mind, "Now, explain to me how you got this house?"

A little smirk appeared onto Maryse's lips, whenever she thought of the story on how she got the beach house. It was quiet impressive of the sixteen year old girl.

"Well, while Daddy was with his new girlfriend in New York, he decided to come for a visit to check on his pumpkin. I don't understand how he thinks that's cute but that's not the point. When he came, I always know how to get what I want with him and I decided to act unusually sad. He asked me what was wrong and I told him that it's been extremely hard getting over their divorce. Poor daddy felt bad for me so he surprised me – and rented me the beach house for the entire summer."

If you knew Maryse, she'd get what she wanted and would do anything to get it – even acting her way to the top.

"Impressive," Nikki followed her compliment with a short applause, "Did you win an academy award for your performance?"

"I should have. But now, you and I are about to have the greatest summer of our lives here. We're going to go to the beach every day, drink every day and party every day of every night we are here – starting with tonight."

"Already tossing a bash? And when were you planning on telling me this?"

"Probably once you saw the house but I couldn't hold it in any longer."

Surprise, Surprise – Maryse was throwing a bash and the French vixen was definitely known for holding amazing parties and the one coming up was definitely going to live up to her standards.

"Tonight, our summer begins with a bang. We're going to pop champagne, dance the night away and maybe even find a summer romance in the process."

Once Maryse had said that, Nikki could see the change in facial expression. Ted was certainly on her mind. Lifelessly could describe Maryse's facial expression. Since that evening, Maryse's heart had been ultimately destroyed. Witnessing your boyfriend and your supposed best friend, kissing one another was tough, especially when your head of heels for him. But for once – when Maryse had something that was hers – it had to be Eve's too. Just like Cody.

The day Maryse could ever forgive the two of them would be a day she'd shop at a thrift store. So basically, don't expect it.

Ted had been the first guy she'd ever given her heart too and he was also the very first to take it and rip it apart. There's a first for everything, right? It certainly wasn't easy trying to get passed this but she just hoped that this summer, she'd be able to enjoy herself and put herself first, instead of men.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" No response to her question, so Nikki decided to continue, "I know it's tough, honey. Getting over a guy – especially to someone like him – is going to be difficult but I know you will. Now that we're here, we've left everything in Beverly Hills and it's going to stay there. Time has come to get your mind off of everything and have some fun. There's going to be nothing Ted related and for the next two months, you're going to have fun."

Of course Nikki was right, "It's just a lot harder than I thought it would be. Nikki, I never felt this way for anyone before. I think I may have even loved him," It was a possibility that she felt this way and Nikki wasn't sure if she was right or wrong – Did Maryse really love Ted? "And when I left the party that night, my dad told me he got me the beach house and I went back to Ted and I wanted to tell him the news – I wanted to tell him that I wanted him to spend the summer with me."

"Babe…"

"And look what happens. I'm tossed to the side. Someone actually manage to break my heart – it's always supposed to be the other way around but karma has a way of biting you in the ass."

"This was not karma. None of this what goes around comes around. Nothing to do with that," As a friend, Nikki's job was to get her mind straight and focused onto another topic, "Now, we're going to enjoy ourselves and have fun – do you hear me? It's our summer vacation and as quick as it comes is how quick as it goes."

Answering the brunette with a nod, she cemented into her mind that – She'd have the greatest summer possible.

"You're right. Today, my summer begins and I'm going to make it amazing from start to finish; and that's a promise I plan on keeping."

A smile elevated across Maryse's lips, just as she rolled right into the beach house's driveway. Since Maryse had prior knowledge of this, she'd seen the beach house but Nikki had yet to get a glimpse of it. Her eyes gazed at Nikki's draw dropping to the ground – certainly a sight to see.

"So you like the place?"

Finally managing to come to words, Nikki could only say a few words, "This is just epic."

The house was located right on the beach – that's how we get beach house for those who don't know. Maryse and Nikki exited the car, walking around the two story building and quickly scatted around the property, immediately heading onto the deck in the back. Right there, you could see the beach and the swimmers, sunbathers and surfers that had occupied it. If this didn't make their summer, what could now?

"Maryse, this place is absolutely amazing!" The cheerfulness in her voice exerted throughout the beach, almost echoing, "But is Laguna Beach ready for us? I mean, we are quiet the handful – don't cha think?"

"I think they can handle us. Beverly Hills has enough of us, so they need a break and we're going to rock this beach up – that's for sure."

In the midst of scanning their new home, Maryse's eyes went to her left where another house was occupied. A man stood outside on the deck, gazing at the ocean but would soon turn his head to lock eyes with Maryse. His hairstyle was different but cute and he had this confident essence to himself. It certainly grabbed Maryse's attention but it wasn't until he decided to come on over and enter the deck. Once he was close enough, Maryse discovered that her new next door neighbor was also a classmate.

"Wow, I come to Laguna Beach to escape Beverly Hills but it seems to follow me everywhere," Flirtatiously grinning at him, Maryse presented herself over, "Miz, what brings you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," With his large arms, he crossed them looking back at the two of them, "Nikki Bella, welcome back to California. I heard about your triumph return to Beverly Hills."

"Thanks Miz."

"Now, what boy did you chase here that brings you back here? You're supposed to be melting in the desert."

Of course, Miz had his way of joking. Maryse found it funny but Nikki did too – she just offered a more sarcastic laugh if anything, "And you must have come to Laguna to spread what sexual transmitted disease you have now? Last I heard, you thought it was 'cool' to have herpes so news of your herpes soon made its way around school. . Have you upgraded – maybe to gonorrhea or maybe Chlamydia?"

"You haven't changed a bit," Miz came forward and pulled the unwillingly Nikki into a hug, "It's good to see you Nikki but what brings you ladies to Laguna? Beverly hills too much for you?"

"It's summer and we wanted to get out of the hills for a little while so I thought why not get a beach house for the summer and have some fun," Answered Maryse, with a witty smile, "You rented one here?"

"Bought – well, Dad bought me one for my birthday so I'm here with Dolph, Jack and a few other guys from school. Before you two showed up, we were just setting up a game on who's going to get laid the most this summer."

Leaning forward, Nikki pinched Miz's cheek roughly, "Aw, you three little womanizers – plan on sleeping with different girls this summer and see who could win. I would never think that sleeping with woman could turn into a game – perhaps I'll see it at the Olympics next year and the three of you can win gold!"

Sarcasm wasn't certainly flowing well with the Miz so he looked back at Maryse and smirked, "Well, ladies – I'll be seeing you around. Enjoy your summer – oh wait, it's already amazing because I'm living next door to you."

As the Miz strolled off, her eyes remained glued onto the man and in her mind she believed she found the guy that would help her get over Ted this summer.

* * *

Difficult – those are the words she could use to describe the past couples of days.

Still trying to deal with the pain of Junior night has haunted Kelly. Everything that had happened was all really shocking.

It hasn't digested in her body that Cody had said that. He was a dear friend and honestly, she thought that's how it was supposed to be The kiss; that's certainly a different story. Something inside of her arose and it was a feeling she had before. It was unexplainable.

And if Cody's revelation wasn't shocking enough – guess who decided to pop back into her life? Phil Brooks or also known as CM Punk; not only was he back but he had been the stalker that had attacked Eve and Savannah. He blamed her for everything but she felt she did nothing to be blamed for. Luckily, he was gone – permanently. Authorities had discovered his body in the rubble during the fire at the hotel.

And the hardest one was Evan. Witnessing him disappeared in the fire was extremely terrifying. She thought she had really lost him there but she really did but still did. It lead her to a local hospital in Beverly Hills where Evan was being treated.

Evan was still alive – just in a vegetated state. He was in a coma and has been since they pulled him out of the building a couple of days ago. He suffered a few bruises and burns but for the most part he survived – in a sense. He just wasn't talking or moving.

It may all seem bad but it really wasn't. When you think of a coma, you immediately think the worse and believe that this was over. The Doctors gave Evan a good outlook. It looked like he would eventually wake up from the coma in time. They just had to play a long and quiet game until it happens – called the waiting game.

Since that night, Kelly has been in the hospital and hasn't left his side since. She had even spoken to Cody, Eve or Maryse. All she knew is that she needed to be here with him.

Torrie, Kelly's older sister joined her along with her Brother in Law, John. The pair had recently gotten back together and the two wanted to be here for the younger girl. It was definitely wonderful to have some support from the two of them since her mother was god knows where and her Dad went off on a summer vacation. At least he called everyday but not her mother.

Kelly held onto Evan's hand, as his body laid their lifeless and her hand raked through his hair, "Please wake up soon. Please!"

Torrie could see the stress that was present on her sister. It's not normal for a sixteen year old girl to go through something like this. But then again, Torrie along with many of her friends went through things like these at their ages, "Kel, you sure you don't want to go grab something to eat? We can go anywhere you want."

It wasn't the time nor was she in the mood to do anything, "I don't want to eat. I just want to stay here and be with Evan. That's all."

"You've been locked up in this room for a while now. Don't you want to get some fresh air and eat something? It will be better," John added, in hopes of convincing the girl to get out.

"The cafeteria food and vending machine is fine with me. If you guys want to go and eat something, go. I'll be fine here."

"It has nothing to do with eating. It has something to do about getting out for a little because being stuck in this room isn't healthy –"

"But seeing Evan like this isn't healthy either. It's my fault that he's in this state," The young sister was beginning to yell much louder at her older sister, "I was the one who did this to him and I'm going to stay here until he wakes up and I'm going to make everything better – just the way it was before any of this mess."

Kelly was never the type to lash out like this. There was more to this than the eye sees; A lot more.

Suddenly, Kelly's phone vibrated and a message from Maryse appeared. _Party at my beach house in Laguna. Be there Kelly and please answer this message. You've gone MIA on me and I'd like to know what's going on. Miss you and I hope you show up. Address is 137 Shore Avenue Laguna Beach. Nikki's here too!_

"So who texted you?"

"Maryse."

"About?"

Kelly sighed, "She's having some party at her beach house but I'm not going to go. I'm just going to stay here. I'm not going to go to the party."

As much as she understood that Kelly wanted to stay here with Evan, Kelly was told what was going to happen. He was going to be okay but it was just going to take some time. It was her summer and she needed to enjoy it like any other average sixteen year old in Beverly Hills.

"You're going to that party," And right before Kelly was about to fire back, Torrie stopped her, "The doctors said Evan was going to be fine and he just needed some time and he'd wake up. Now, you can come and see him but not be here for every minute of every day. It's your summer and you should enjoy yourself a little bit. Evan would want the same thing too. Just go out and have some fun. Get your mind off of things and you can come first thing in the morning tomorrow. How does that sound?"

"Come on Kel – it's summer. Just have some fun and Torrie's right; Evan would want you to have some fun."

After hearing Torrie's advice and John's input, she wasn't feeling as bad about leaving Evan. She could just go tonight and come back first thing in the morning. The visiting hours begin at nine and she'll be sure to be here at nine. Kelly reached for her cell phone and shot back a message to Maryse.

_I'll be there girl. I have a lot to tell you. Kelly xxx_

* * *

As much as she really didn't want to go over there to invite the three guys to their party tonight, Nikki was forced. Due to Maryse wanting the rest of the day to pamper herself up for tonight, it was one half of the Bella twins who would be knocking on their door.

Fixing up her blue bikini top, her hand came forward to the wooden door and she knocked. Expecting the Miz to show up at the door, Nikki had received a different face at the doorstep. Slicked back blonde hair and crystal clear eyes; it sure wasn't the Miz or Jack Swagger.

"Um," She chirped through her lips, "I was looking for the Miz but I guess he's not here. I'll just come back later."

As she was about to turn her way, he pulled her back, "Hold on. I'm one of Miz's friends. I live here with him. I think your Nikki right?"

"Yeah, I'm Nikki – Nikki Bella. I'll be living next door to you guys for the summer with my friend Maryse," She kindly introduced herself to the man she still didn't know, "And you must have a name as well, right?"

"Dolph – Dolph Ziggler."

_That's certainly an interesting name. _Nikki's eyes traveled up and down his jacked body – only wearing a pair of gym shorts, "Nice to meet you. I was coming over because we're having a party tonight so we'd like if you guys would come too. What do you say?"

Dolph nodded his head gently, midst biting down on his lip, "I suppose I can make an appearance – I'll probably come and get the party started and I'll come if you wear that bikini – or you don't have to wear that bikini, if you know what I mean," Joking around, he shot a wink at the twin.

Just like her earlier assumption, he was just another guy; another typical guy. His little jokes wasn't really working well with her, "You know, I usually don't walk around topless when animals are watching – it's a little too uncomfortable. Just answer the question."

"Yeah, I'll be there," With his eyes, he'd undress her slowly and images raced through his mind, "And I'll let you the guys know about everything."

"Great – goodbye Dolph," As Nikki turned away; Dolph extended his glance and didn't take them off the Bella, especially her asset, "And Dolph, if you could stop staring at my ass – that would be wonderful."

As the door shut, Dolph turned around and smirked. Nikki Bella was definitely a sweet girl – one he'd like to add to his conquest as he, Jack and Miz planned this summer. Coming back into the kitchen, Jack stood alone making himself something and Jack could see his white frame shining proudly.

Suspicion grew across Jack's lip since just prior to answering the door, Dolph was depressed as ever, "So is there a broomstick shoved up your ass to explain the smile on your face? Just before you were moping and complaining about everything and now you seem happy. What the hell is going on Ziggler?"

"Well, We're invited to a party tonight next door and," With his hand, he slicked back his hair and smirked. When he does that, you know something was up, "I just saw the girl I'm going to score with tonight. I think you guys should start paying me up now."

"But you already scored with Maryse but that didn't turn out amazing. What are you talking about, man?"

"Not Her - Maryse's got a hot friend living with her and yeah," He took a moment to pause, stalling his answer, "She definitely wants me. She couldn't keep her eyes off of me and I can tell. The Ziggler knows when a girl wants him."

"Does the Ziggler think he's being a cocky idiot? Swagger thinks so."

Jack would always be the guy to turn down Dolph's hope and expectations. He wanted to prove himself so what better thing to do than place a bet on the bet that they already have.

"I better I can get her. I've got all summer don't I?"

"Let's make this a little more interesting," Jack came up with an idea, just so he can have a little more fun with this. He liked fun after all, "Let's make a bet – one hundred bucks that you can't get with Nikki tonight and only tonight. If you win, I'll give you your pride and cash but I win, I get the cash Ziggler. What do you say man?"

"You're on Swagger," The two men exchanged a handshake in exchange of the deal, "Now; I'd like one crisp one hundred dollar bill. Fresh from the bank and no twenties, tens, fives or singles and I'm going take it and wipe my ass with it then I'll shove it right into your face and show you how the Ziggler does it."

"Like I said man, don't get all cocky. It would be ashamed that you get all hyped up to win but you end up losing. That would be pretty damn funny if you ask me."

"Too bad it isn't going to happy Swagger."

* * *

This summer was certainly going to be a bitter one – for Eve that is.

Though summer had only begun a few days ago, its start wasn't exactly amazing. Where should she begin?

First, she feels alone and doesn't have anybody special. Two, She kissed her friend's boyfriend and I liked it, while she witnessed it. Three, she's lost her friend and most of the touch from the outside world.

She never expected Ted to kiss her that night. What made him do it – she didn't know. But the kiss was pretty darn amazing. She even liked it. Her mind couldn't even function on how she even enjoyed something like that with him of all people. Her mind was a complete mess. He was a jerk but somehow, she'd still manage to feel something even though she shouldn't have.

But now look at her – she was alone and it was the beginning of the summer. Word hadn't really gotten out of what happened and Eve preferred that it would stay like that for the remainder of the summer.

Her first summer in California and it had already turned into a complete wreck. Right about now, she wished she was in school and not stuck in her room, moping around.

Her mother strolled into her bedroom and her motherly instincts kicked in. As a mother, she'd know when something was wrong. Her senses could tell her what was going on and she was determined to get it out.

"Eve, is there something wrong honey? You're looking down, more than usual."

Her mother took a seat at the end of Eve's bed, right beside her feet. Eve knew her mother and she knows she wants to help but not this time. It's a situation that she could handle on her own and she wanted to do what she thought was right and not really count on her mother for help. It's sort of a move toward being a little more independent than she usually is.

"Nothing – it's just Kelly's caught up at the hospital so I have no one to really hang out with. I'm just a little bored, that's all."

"Why don't you call Maryse? Haven't the two of you patched things up?"

Quickly reeling her legs back and crossing them, Eve let out a sigh and thought of her feet, "Maryse went away for the summer. I think she's doing a Mediterranean cruise in Europe for the summer so she's gone for the entire summer."

"Oh, wait a shame," Little did Eve's mother know how Maryse and Eve's relationship took a drastic change for the worse just a few days ago. In all honestly, Eve's mind was replaying the image in her head and Maryse's grim words.

_"Listen, Maryse –"_

_Eve tried to say something but Maryse stopped her before she said anything, "Don't say anything. Just don't say a word."_

_Maryse looked at the both of them, from head to toe and looked right at Ted, "So was this your whole plan? Get your shot with me and when I'm gone, you run off to Eve. Is that how everything is supposed to be?"_

_"No, It's not –"_

_"And you," Maryse said in the darkest tone possible, as it was directed to Eve, "First Cody and now you want a piece of Ted? I don't get why you go straight for someone who's already taken. Is it because you like it? Is it a challenge to get a guy who already has a girlfriend?"_

_"No, Ted –"_

_"No. I don't want to hear anything," Eve worried; by the looks of Maryse, she feared Maryse was just going to break down and completely lose her mind._

_Maryse slowly backed away and entered the hallway. She looked once more at the two of them and shed her final tears and her final words went something a little like this, "I never want to see the either of you ever again."_

"Eve?"

"Yeah Mom?"

"You've seemed to like suddenly space out, right before I was about to tell you something that will probably make you really happy," She snapped out of her trance and looked at her mother. She was hiding something. She knew her mother well enough to see when she is hiding something – keeping something in the dark, "I have some really awesome news that I think you'll like to hear."

It was interesting to hear her mother have some interesting news for her. What could it be? Time to find out.

"Well, since your father is working practically all summer and we really aren't going anywhere too exciting – I already booked everything so please don't have any arrangements – but how would you feel about heading away with myself to Colorado springs and head back to Denver for a couple of weeks?"

It sounded too amazing. Denver was sounding just about wonderful right now. To be able go back home – her home 'home' – would definitely be a joy. Seeing old friends and knowing that nothing could go wrong with them sounded great. A Colorado summer would be just as amazing as a

Say no more, Eve had her answer, "I'd love to go back," The thought of old memories with friends and family rampaged through her mind and the idea was looking brighter and brighter, "I could see everyone again. I haven't even talked to them as much and I bet that they, as much as I, would love to see them again."

And her smile was back – and more importantly, Dana was happy to give her a chance to smile again.

"We don't leave for another two weeks but we'll be there just until a few days before you head back to school. It's just about perfect."

"Thanks Mom."

While Dana was relieved to hear that her daughter would join her, she exited the room and left her daughter to mind her own thoughts. After being away for so long, it's great to be able to go back to Denver and be with friends – ones that she knew would always be there for her. Not that she didn't have any here but she's lost touch with Maryse, hopefully no one else is next.

Lying on top of her leg was her phone which suddenly vibrated. A text from Kelly was written before her_. Party tonight. Picking you up at 9 so be ready and don't text me back with an excuse that you're not coming. Love you Kelly xxx_

Once reading the message, she could only think of the possibility of seeing Maryse at the party and what could possibly happen? The claws may make an appearance tonight.

* * *

She loved to party. She really did. Just on this occasion, something else wasn't making her feel that good. Right across from her was Dolph, giving her stares and it kind of freaked her out in a way.

Before, she didn't think he was that bad but that has certainly changed now. So much for the nice guy she thought she met before.

Luckily, Maryse wasn't too far away and she noticed the scowl on Nikki's face, "Nikki, what are you staring at?"

After a much needed sigh, "Dolph Ziggler," Said Nikki, in a raunchy tone, "Like, I think he's undressing me with his eyes or something because he keeps staring at me. I swear, it's kind of freaking me out more than anything."

The French Canadian looked over her shoulder and could see Dolph drooling at the sight of Nikki, "Oh he wants you bad. I can see the drool coming out and now that's kind of disgusting but Dolph's a really nice guy – he does a pretty nice job in between the sheets."

She shot a wink but Nikki still looked confused until she managed to plug it in, "Please don't go into detail. I just need to get away from him. What should I do?"

"Well, think fast because he's coming over here right now."

As the much larger man came forward, he positioned himself in front of Nikki. Taking one last slip of his beer and placing it down on the table, he combed back his hair, "Nikki, Maryse – how are you ladies doing this evening?"

Her eyes never managed to make full contact with him and she wanted to keep it that way. She didn't want to keep him guessing and expect something when he's not going to get anything. She could smell the alcohol from his breath and it wasn't appealing whatsoever, "Could I offer you a tic tac or a piece of gum? I can smell the Corona and Bud in your mouth."

"I was just playing a game of beer pong and guess who won? I did!" Raising his hand in honor, he was obviously the one, "I was hoping maybe Nikki and I could play a round. Don't you want to Nikki?"

"Um, Dolph – I'm going to say this as nice as I can okay?" Patiently waiting for an answer, Nikki gave it to him and it wasn't the answer Dolph wanted, "No."

"Come on."

Dolph's hand came forward, leaning him against the wall. He trapped Nikki. Maryse could only find this a bit amusing if anything. She slowly began to back away from Nikki, "Well, I've got to go. You guys have fun and don't break anything."

"Maryse!" Squealed Nikki as she could see Maryse disappearing. She was in serious trouble now. She looked back at Dolph and faked smile, "I've got to go," And she ran off, hoping she didn't have to see him for the rest of the night but without knowing that she left him, feeling a little hurt.

Sipping on her drink, from the infamous big red cup, Maryse directed herself onto the beach. The thought of how the summer was already turning out well made her feel good. Junior year was a rollercoaster. So much had happened in such a short time and now it finally looked like it was turning out to be good. Some of the party goers were sitting around a bonfire but one party goer, she was very familiar with. Her laughter filled the air and when the woman had turned around, she saw the girl she really didn't want to see.

"You – What the hell are you doing here?"

As the other turned around, looking at the extremely angry Maryse – Eve turned her body around, stood up and faced Maryse, "Oh..."

Similar to Eve's reaction, Eve wasn't thrilled to see her. Funny how she didn't know Maryse wouldn't be here. For the whole drive here, Eve didn't have the slightest clue in the world that Maryse was here since Kelly caught her up on the recent events that had happened.

The other senseless human beings, also known as their classmates, stared and they could already see their claws coming out.

"What the hell are you doing here at my party, on my beach house? Did you get the invite, no backstabbing bitches were allowed!"

"I – I didn't know. I'm going to leave now. It's fine," She wasn't lying – but would Maryse really believe that right now? "I'm going to call a cab and I'll be out of your hair."

Eve stepped to the side, hoping to leave the predicament before it escalated but Maryse thought on her toes and wasn't going to let her get away this easily so she did what only she could do and step right in front of her face, "Why the hell did you even show up? To try and steal another boyfriend of mine? Unfortunately, I don't have one so you don't have to dig your claws into."

"Ted kissed me. I didn't kiss him."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Maryse wasn't going to believe anything right about now. Eve's mouth did only one thing and one thing only; Lie, "I can't believe I was trying to be nice to you. I tried to be your friend. I did so much for you and this is how you repay me – digging your claws into Ted?"

"I said, he kissed me – He'll even tell you," Though it was pointless to change her mind, she wanted to try a little bit.

"No, stop lying!"

Her mind traveled back to the very moment when she walked in as the anger inside grew – and right at the moment, she figured something out rather interesting.

"That's why you were so excited when I gave you the hotel room. It was part of your plan to get into bed with him. This was your sick plan. You didn't only want to kiss him but you wanted to sleep with him. Your nothing but a slut – you know that? You're a boyfriend stealer, backstabber and a total bitch."

The words were hurtful and honestly, she didn't deserve to be called any of that so time to fight fire with fire, "I'm a bitch? Takes one to know one, honey."

She began to cross the line.

"You think everyone else around you is a complete bitch when you're the worst one. And I'm a slut? You sleep with guys like it's normal – well, being a slut for you is normal," Eve could see she was hitting something hard in Maryse and was liking it, "You Maryse, you're easier than a two cent hooker!"

She had reached the tipping point. Maryse scowled before splashing her drink right into Eve's face before slapping across the face, collapsing down to the ground. The kids around would just laugh and Maryse looked at her with such a scowl, one she'd never seen before and growled once more, "Get the hell out of here and never come back!"

Eve was fed with more than just that. Other girls, hearing the story, lashed out in defense of Maryse, "Wow Eve – you're such a whore."

"Boyfriend stealer!"

"Nobody even likes you!"

Eve took one last look at Maryse – both shooting one another with glares and Maryse said, "You're dead to me."

As her eyes elevated towards her new enemies, Eve darted her eyes right at Maryse and she cringed. Turning away, it was just best to exit now and avoid any further confrontation with Maryse or anyone else. Once far enough, she was able to release a few tears. She never wanted to look weak in front of any of them and with the evil gone, her weakness showed. The droplets would crash down onto the sand.

Her life wouldn't be the same after this.

* * *

"Eve, why are you not answering your phone?"

Four tries later and not a response; fear was no crawling up on her. Only being a few hours into the party, no one had seen Eve and the blonde grew fearful that something may have occurred. Her cell phone was positioned right over her ear and she heard the same thing. _It's Eve – not here so leave me a message. _

"Eve, It's Kel – Um, this is like my fifth time calling you," The obnoxious noise in the room was disturbing so it was best to depart and head into a much peaceful area. Upstairs didn't look to shabby so her feet stomped right up and finally, she could hear her thoughts, "I've called before and left you a few texts. Some creepy guy just hit on me and I think I want to leave so call me and if you'd like, we'll go. I'll take you home. Bye."

Shutting her phone and tugging it right back into her pocket, the blonde found the balcony and could see the entire ocean with the moon's reflection. Could California get any more beautiful than it is right now?

Carelessly fiddling with her drink, she finished off whatever was left of it and placed it quietly down on the balcony. As much as she didn't like to be wrong, she was wrong. Worrying constantly about Evan wasn't right. It was consuming her life and it really shouldn't have. Fact was; he was going to be okay and the worrying was pointless. Both John and Torrie were right. Evan would want her to enjoy herself and like any other person, if Kelly was in Evan's place, she'd want him to enjoy himself.

Not that she didn't enjoy herself – just now she was worrying about Eve and her whereabouts.

As time crawled off, the night was bringing a much cooler breeze and Kelly was pretty sure she heard people in the other room doing something that wasn't exactly PG rated material. Got to love California – that's for sure.

Senselessly minding her busy, creaks in the wooden floor traveled to her ears and she looked over her back and could see him making his way toward her. A little shocked but relieved to see him around, "You're here?"

"I was invited."

As he came forward, he put his hands onto her hips and smiled, "You haven't spoke to me since that night and I don't understand why? I've called and texted you but you haven't returned any of them."

"I'm with Evan, okay? I can't answer your texts or calls."

"So than we can't be friends? Is that what you're trying to tell me without really saying it? Just say it to my face, Kelly. Tell me we can't be friends."

To say and even think about saying it was complicated. You can't just say goodbye to someone like that, "We can't be friends – we can't be friends or see each other. It's for our own good. You need to move on and let go of everything. We can never happen."

Cody stood there with a determined look onto his face. He really knew the truth of this all and he couldn't just let everything go.

"Kelly, Evan is laying in a hospital bed and you're here. If you really wanted to be with him, you would have stay and never left his side but you choose to come here. And you can't stop thinking about that night. The point of the night when we kissed."

"Stop – don't say a word!"

But it was too late. Kelly's mind had traveled back to that night – a night where the game changed.

_As he continued walking toward the exit of the hotel, he was suddenly stopped when he heard his name being called in the empty hallway. He turned around and could only see one person making his way toward him – Kelly. She was gravely concerned about him._

_Kelly looked right into Cody's blue eyes and she could see that he must of have extremely hurt after this whole thing and she wanted some answers herself – she deserved that, "Cody, what was that all about? I mean, you like me but you're like one of my closet friends here. This is just so –"_

_Cody couldn't control himself any longer, now that he has Kelly all to himself for that moment. He just didn't want to repeat what he already said but show it instead so he decided to interrupt her little interview and pulled her into a kiss. Cody held Kelly's neck and gently gave her a soothing and passionate kiss._

_In the midst of the kiss, she couldn't lie to herself and say she didn't like it. She didn't want it to end. As for Cody, it was more like something he finally got a chance to do. Something he's wanted to know what it feels like and to say the least, it felt amazing._

_As their lips parted away, Kelly stared right into his eyes and took a quick step back, "This can't happen.."_

_"It can Kelly – it's already happened. Let me ask you something, why did you come back here and follow me instead of being with Evan? If you didn't care about me, you'd be with your boyfriend – not with me. If you didn't feel something, you wouldn't be here."_

_As Kelly heard thoroughly what he had just said, he did make some sense but she couldn't just jump to conclusions and believe what he says. It was up to her to decide what she wanted; did she want to stay with Evan or cross over and be with Cody? But it was all too confusing. The thought of dating Cody would be awkward but something inside wasn't thinking that. The idea didn't even sound bad at all._

"You know as well as I that you can't think of that night. When I kissed you, I felt something and when I got you out of the building before anything, I know you were feeling something. Kelly, just come to terms with it – we're meant to be together. We're supposed to be together."

The kiss was implanted right onto her mind and it was stay there. As Kelly brushed up her arms to create a form of heat, Cody's words were getting into her. He was the one he saved her and she could never forget that kiss – there was something she felt there.

"Can we just stop lying to each other and let what is meant to be just be?"

He couldn't even let her finish that answer before he pulled her back, similar to junior night and pressed his lips against hers. The feeling that arose was one that can't be denied. The sweet taste of his lips were so refreshing. What was growing inside of her was unexplainable. Normally, she never would want to take it to the next level – that was until now.

She couldn't control herself any longer.

Cody felt Kelly's hands traveling south, tugging onto his top and pushing him into the unoccupied bedroom that was available. Breaking the kiss for a moment, Kelly helped remove Cody's top and soon, she'd feel free to do the same for herself. Back into a fierce and delighted kiss, Kelly pushed Cody forward and onto the bed before them. Much rougher than she usually is, she pushed him on top of him – and soon, one thing lead from another. Her mind was focused on him and Evan had disappeared from her mind.

* * *

It's sounds odd – but stuff like this does happen. Maryse wasn't even enjoying herself at the party any longer and was now a distraught mess.

Eve's presence didn't provide any help; it only brought more pain into this situation than anything. Sitting onto the beach and using her sleeve to wipe away the tears coming down from her eyes wasn't her ideal way of spending her first day of summer here. This summer was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be fun like any other average sixteen year olds. But not anymore.

Now, here she was – constantly thinking about Ted and how if none of this happened that she could spend the summer with him and that's what she looked forward too. A summer with a guy you're in love with? Yeah, it sounds like every girl's dream but not every dream comes true.

"Is this seat taken?"

Look who's here – the Miz, Maryse's new next door neighbor is here. Offering a quick laugh and the seat by her, she spoke, "There's plenty of seats. So sure."

As the Miz sat beside her, the lines where the tear drops had fallen were noticeable by the naked eye, "You okay? You kind of seem upset or something?"

_I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell him. _Letting out a sigh, her heart would just be poured out, "Well, I guess I can pour my heart out to you. The whole school is going to know anyway so why don't I just tell you everything before you hear it from someone else who mixes up the words?"

"Is it a sad story? Am I going to need some tissues or anything?"

"I think I'm going to need it."

And her story would begin.

"I liked someone – I really did. For months, I'd want a chance to be with him and tell him how I felt and one night, I finally did. I let everything out. I never do that. A guy had never driven me this crazy – ever! Usually I do this but not this time. So junior night, I told him everything and he told me he felt the same way. Of course, being a girl, I go crazy and I'm completely head over heels. That same night, I walk in to see one of my best friends making a move on him – right in front of me. I see the both of them kiss. My heart breaks. My heart actually felt like it burned up into ashes and blew away. It was like I had no heart."

And the tears rolled down her cheeks, relieving the memories – the Miz thought it may be proper to stop Maryse from continuing so she doesn't have to cry, "You don't have to finish the story – if it makes you this upsets, you really don't have too."

Her stare gazed out in the sea but she disagreed, "No, I want you to hear the story before it gets completely mixed up and ruined because of jealous girls."

And he couldn't stop her so he let her, "Go ahead and finish it up."

"Well, where was I in my horribly gone wrong love story – oh that's right, I felt as if I lost my entire heart. I lost a love and I lost a friend. There's my life for you. I'm not just a spoiled little girl. I have a heart and I have feelings and just like everyone else – I can get hurt too."

Obviously, there wasn't much to offer so all he had could do was offer shoulder to cry on, "Since I forgot my tissues, you can use my sleeves for anything. I hate this shirt anyway so it's okay."

Maryse's skull crashed onto his shoulder and remained there, "Thanks for listening though."

"I don't want to go all Dr. Phil on you or anything but I think you've got to let everything go. Like, forget that loser and your friend. It's summer so you've got to have fun with it because it will be over before you know it. You've got to have fun and trust me, i'll make sure of it. Every day that we are here for the summer, we'll do something fun and get your mind off of that all."

West Beverly's outlook on the Miz was that he was a complete jerk; not in this case. She's seen a side to him that normally a lot of other people can't get to see. She's seen a different side to him and she could already see how much of a good person he really is - he could still be a jerk just not all the time.

"You're not such an asshole as people portray you as."

"Why does everyone think i'm an ass? I can be a pretty nice guy too but everyone has something to say and it isn't good."

"Well, i think your a nice guy," Not to really kiss his rear end but just to let him know that he isn't a jerk as everyone one else thinks he is, "If they see this Miz, then they'll think your nice but when your prankster and cocky, they get a different outlook of you."

"I'm cocky?" Rolling eyes were offered in exchange, followed by some fake laughter, "I'm not cocky - i'm just pretty freakin' amazing."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

For the rest of the evening, Maryse knew if she kept herself somewhere with some positivity that she wouldn't just get all emotional again. The Miz looked to be the right guy to keep a smile across her lips and a smile was what she needed right now. He could be just what she needs right now - someone to talk to.

In the distance, over by the main road - a figure watched the pair getting closer to one another. His feet were dug into the dirt of the road and his motorbike was resting there. That would have been him right now - but he had screwed up and it was his own fault that all of this happened. If it wasn't for his stupid move that night, he'd be the guy right next to her and her head would be on his shoulder. That's not the case. He lost her - he lost her for a good. No girl could ever forgive a guy for what he had did. It was just unforgivable.

Now, what else did he have to look forward to? He's lost the girl, his life is a mess and he has no clue what to do. With one stare at his motorbike, he hoped right back on it and began to speed down the road - trying to find what he is to do and what's next for him. Whatever was next for him wouldn't matter.

It wouldn't matter because she wouldn't be there with him.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello readers! And another chapter completed! :)  
Evan is alive, well kind of? Miz & Maryse? Nikki & Dolph? Kelly & Cody? ;) Lot's going to happen soon.  
Eve and Ted are both left alone but that won't be long until that's fixed ;)  
Thanks for everyone for reading and please leave a lovely review - i was extremely happy with the feedback from the previous chapter!  
Thank you my loves :)  
Until next time...Take Care xxx


	25. Over the Line

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty Five _- Over the Line

A hot summer was never heard of in the city of Denver until this year rolled by. The temperatures could be soaring but it didn't heat up Eve's cold life – in fact, it just continued to get colder and colder.

"You expect us to be your friends while you've been in California and not a single peep out of you?" Responsible for the angry fit was Hanna, a now former friend of Eve's – who was shrieking at the top of her lungs, with another set of Eve's former friends, Kayla and Chrissy, "You've moved to Beverly Hills and you think you've gotten all high and mighty and that your better than us so you decided not to call or email or text. Nothing! We've all called you, hoping to talk but all we got was your voicemail. We'd even wanted to web chat but you were busy with everything. Apparently, you didn't have enough time for your real friends."

Being batter with the rants and screams was Eve Torres. Looking forward to a much excited reunion with friends in Denver has turn much more unexciting in the matter of moments. The three friends weren't too happy with how Eve has treated them in the past and they've reached their tipping point.

"We've been your friends since middle school but when you left, you'd constantly say you'd miss us and wish we were with you. Apparently that doesn't matter because you've been having the absolute time of your life! It looks and sounds more like you've loved it now that us three were out of the picture and now you expect to come back and act like nothing happened?" Now this angry rant was coming from the short hair female known as Kayla, "Eve, I'm done with you."

"Count me in too," Agreed the much taller brunette, Chrissy, to Kayla's left, "I never want to see your ugly face again!"

"Let's add a little more to that," Spoke Hanna, the leader of the trio, "We're all done with you. We never want to see you again. Don't you ever come back to this city! We don't want you here so goodbye Miss Beverly Hills – enjoy your fabulous new life!"

The final grim words glued themselves right onto Eve's mind, as the trio began to walk away from her – leaving her alone on the streets of Denver. She was so excited to see them but once the anger rolled out – she knew what was coming along. Her only possible set of friends left were now gone along with the many others she'd lost.

Though classes hadn't begun back home, the rumor mill was twirling away in California.

Rumor number one went a little like this: Eve was leaving Beverly Hills permanently and was never going to come back. False – she was leaving Beverly Hills for a short time to visit friends, which as anyone can see backfired, but she will be returning right before the first day of school.

Rumor number two was the worst: Eve had planned on seducing Ted and getting him into bed though he was already taken by her former BFF Maryse. False - She never even remotely thought of that idea and it was Ted that had kissed her but that was completely blown out of proportion and look well it landed her; In West Beverly High's most hated list.

Now she was left alone – she had no one else excluding her mother and grandmother but the point of this trip was to rekindle the friendship she had with her friends but things don't always go as you plan.

Of course, she was feeling horrible than ever now and as much as you hate to admit if your wrong, she was. Once she was in Beverly Hills, she had gotten a new life and completely forgotten about the three girls. She couldn't even call because she was so caught up in everything and they eventually stopped calling and this is what happened – isolation and distance. Their friendship had completely crumbled.

If she hadn't heard any of the rumors or gossip, the only real friend she had was Kelly but she couldn't speak to her with the fear of being battered with rumors and false information.

Her phone vibrated; the name was familiar but certainly not one she'd call a friend right about now. A little hesitation rose when she decided to press send and accept the call, "What do you want Ted?" Was the harsh and cold greeting given to him.

"I don't understand the whole attitude – what's wrong?"

He was unaware of some of the most recent things that happened, except for the events on Junior night. Eve gathered up strength and revealed everything, in a unlike kind of Eve tone, "You want to know what's wrong? I've lost everything. I've completely lost everything I could imagine. I lost friends, trust and I've lost my happiness that I once have."

Still unaware of what exactly happened, Ted decided to ask away, "How is everything lost?"

"Shall we begin with Junior night? I lost Maryse as a friend because of what you decided to do. The kids in our school think I'm a complete slut because of what I apparently was going to do. I've been humiliated and I come back to Denver to see my old friends and they can't stand the sight of me and want nothing to do with me. So you tell me, what could be wrong?"

Even though she was in the middle of a park, she wasn't going to let the fear of others seeing her cry let her stop from crying – she balled out. She couldn't stop at this rate and Ted could hear it all and felt extremely horrible.

"I'm sorry Eve – this is my entire fault."

"Tell me something I don't know and why the hell are you even calling me? I don't get why you'd even want to talk to me."

Ted bit on his lip as he quietly waited at Los Angeles International airport – he too was leaving Beverly Hills for a little while, along with his younger sister – Riley DiBiase – and just what he told Maryse that night, he wanted to go see his father and take his sister along with him.

"I'm also leaving Beverly Hills for a little. I'm going to Virginia with my little sister. We're actually going to board really soon and I just wanted to call you to see how things are."

In a wise way, she said, "Well now you know so there's no other reason to talk to me."

Ted received the hang up on his line, just as he took a seat in the waiting area. His sister looked over and could see the look on his face. For a ten year old, she knew when something was wrong and something was surely wrong, "What happened Ted? Were you talking to your girlfriend?"

He looked down at his younger sister and tried to smile, "It's just an old friend – that's it. I just wanted to see how she was doing," He didn't want to be a person to bring the mood down in the situation so he wanted to keep it modest, "But are you excited to go back home?"

"Yeah, I miss Daddy a lot but are you sure Mommy's going to be okay with this? And Clark?"

Clark Hobart – was a referral to Ted's step dad. Wasn't the nicest man in the world but his mother still believed he was everything when he was really just a horrible human being all over. Ted needed to get out of their and finally, the two were this close. Once they were on the plane, there was no way to stop them from getting home.

"Yeah, mom knows and she's okay. We're just going to surprise Dad when we get there and trust me; we're going to have a lot of fun in Virginia Beach. Dad has the beach right on the water and we can do whatever we want."

The young one smiled and Ted could only hope he could keep his younger sister's promise.

* * *

The ripples of water washed along the shore, covering up her feet but would soon retract back into the sea. The wind brushed up against the shore as young Nikki Bella walked along the shoreline.

Occasionally, she'd kick some water and smiled. This summer wasn't panning out too bad so far – it had only been a few weeks into the summer. Multiple parties to attend, countless days on the beach and plenty of boys walking around; it certainly was at its peak.

There was only one boy that seemed to be a little out there – Dolph.

Apparently, he was super glued to her – every morning she'd see him and receive the daily advances and like every advance, she'd push him back and back to what appeared to never end. The farther he was pushed back was the more annoying he has gotten. Every morning she'll receive a stare – not directed at her face but two other assets that stood out on her body apparently.

A peaceful evening walk on the beach would not be ruined by him – but by a set of other individuals. Three surfers came running by Nikki, one of them knocking her over onto the wet sand and shallow water. Once on the ground, she yelped as her foot scratched up against a shell. Her head turned over and looked at the trio of idiots and like Nikki, she'd yell.

"You idiots! Too busy to even look at where the hell they are going. I swear, people are getting stupider by the day."

And the three didn't really take the threat seriously as they simply giggled away at the matter. While she remained on the floor, Nikki looked upwards and noticed a hand was extended. And who's hang could that have been? The one person she didn't want to see.

"You okay there?"

Quickly, she slapped away his hand and stood up on her own feet, "I'm completely fine and I can pick myself up, thank you very much. I don't need your help so don't worry."

"Listen, I was just trying to be nice and offer you a hand. No need to get all rowdy with me," Spoke the larger man, dressed in his swim shorts, "I saw over there how they just basically tackled you down like a quarterback. I don't think you'll do such a good job on a football team."

"As tempting as it is, I'm not interested in being a three hundred pound sweaty man. Not really for me."

He sighed with a laugh and proceeded to nod at the Bella's comment, "Shouldn't you be planning another big party? The last one was really good and me and the guys can't wait till the two of you throw another party."

"Well, the last party you were completely wasted. You puked in our toilet and lucky for me, I got to see the whole show! Yay!" Sarcastically, she'd toss her hands up in joy, "And then you told me I was hot. A bit flattered until you described to me what you wanted to do with me in your bed but luckily, I stuffed your face with bread before you could say another word. As it is every girl's dream to hear a guy's sexual fantasy about her."

"I wasn't that bad."

"Oh yeah, just like Alicia's weave isn't that bad. Face it; you really can't hold your alcohol. You're a light weight."

Hearing those words kind of took away from his masculinity. A man's masculinity was extremely important to him and you take that way and you feel like a woman. Plus, it makes him feel like a loser. Dolph didn't take the accusation lightly.

"Lightweight? I could go on for hours and be fine. Trust me, once I had a whole keg of beer to myself and I was nowhere near getting alcohol poisoning or throwing up. I can control myself and hold my alcohol. It was probably you who drank and you just made this up."

"No, I didn't. Actually, after a while I got some pictures of you. Nattie came by and we took some pictures with you. Your face was pretty damn priceless – it's like your eyes were red and you kept telling yourself you were sexy."

"Well, I wasn't lying," A cocky smirked emerged and Nikki just rolled her eyes.

"And the funniest part had to be where you told me that you and Jack had a bet that you could sleep with me that night but now, it's two weeks later and you have yet to sleep with me, no thank you by the way and this is not an offer to complete that bet, and I think you lost a hundred bucks."

Though she was a difficult girl, it was like a challenge to try and get to her, "What?" Deny deny deny – was his plan, "I never did such a I thing. I mean, Jack needed to borrow hundred bucks and he came to me and told me that his dad needed something and I was like you know you can ask me for anything bro and I just gave it to him. There wasn't a bet or anything. I don't know what you're talking about – you were probably drunk too."

"Whatever you say!"

As Nikki started to walk away from him, down the beach, he'd follow but he wanted a second chance, "Okay Nikki, I know we didn't get off on the right foot and you might think I'm a jerk but I hope we could maybe restart this whole thing – start fresh you know?" She stopped and turned to him, to see his hand out, "I'm Dolph Ziggler."

Giving him a blank stare, she quickly said, "Nikki Bella. Okay, goodbye," And turned right back around, walking away.

"Wait? Aren't we supposed to start fresh and get to know each other you know? After all, we're friends."

Again, she was forced to stop and she turned around, smiling at him, "I know plenty about you. You're a womanizer; you're a jerk, alcoholic and have the brightest hair color possible. I know too much."

"I'd like to get to know you too."

"All you need to know is that you're not going to get any of this," Showcasing her body and smirking once more, Nikki turned away and departed – finally not being interrupted and stopped.

Dolph stood there and only could think that Nikki was one amazing girl and there was something about her that he liked so much. The fact that's she has a sharp mouth and seems to be aggressive was more appealing and she seemed to be a girl who was difficult; but he was up for the challenge. Dolph always liked a few challenges.

Nikki returned to the beach house and saw Maryse minding her own business, a large shadow came through blocking the ever so strong sun rays from striking her body. Raising up her sunglasses, she saw the figure happened to be her next door neighbor, "Your blocking the sun, I hope you know that."

"Excuse me Maryse – here I am trying to help you protect you from skin cancer and other related skin diseases contracted by the sun. I'll move back out of the way and you can have all the cancer you'd like."

Taking to the side, Maryse grinned, "Why must you bring so much negativity onto me? I mean, I was doing just fine until you decided to show up!"

"I don't appreciate that," Snarled back the Miz, "And without me, you would probably be having the absolute miserable time here. Face it, the Miz brightens up everyone's day – no matter where he is."

Maryse laughed away, "You really think that?"

"No, I know that."

Nikki simply laughed in the background before she came forward, "So what have you two been up to while Dolph has been stalking me? Anything I should know of?"

"Miz was just leaving," Maryse stood up onto her feet and smiled, "And I was off to take a shower. Nikki, would you like to join me?"

Miz's eyes flared up based on Maryse's question. He titled his head over to Maryse than to Nikki who nodded, "I'd love to shower with you Maryse. But I was thinking more of a bubble bath?"

"I'd like a bath."

The two females linked arms and walked into the house while Miz, he stood there with an image etched in his mind that would not be leaving his mind any time soon.

* * *

Something was certainly cooking in the Cena residence. Men can screw up on a lot of things but they can, well John can and cooks one hell of a rack of ribs on the grill. In the kitchen, he wouldn't be too excited but a grill is a man toy.

On the Friday evening, he managed to cook something up for the family and one person who's only family appeared to be John's. Randy sat quietly beside the dinner table on the patio, staring at his beer senselessly.

The man was completely lost. He's lost just about everything he could think of. His life, his wife, his children and his family. Word had gotten out to both Randy and Stacy's family about what had happened and both families are upset with the man. Randy's own parents won't even talk to him after this all. His life has completely changed for the worse.

No word from Stacy at all. She was somewhere but he didn't know where. Randy didn't know if she was still in the city or maybe in a different state or perhaps a different country. He had not the slightest clue. For all he knew, she could be halfway across this country or not even in this country.

A weak sigh emitted through his lips as John came over to him, handing over a platter of burgers before him, "I know you're a well done type of guy so I put yours to the side and the rest are for Torrie and the kids."

"Thanks," He splurged out of lips. It was the most unenthusiastic tone John had ever heard. The whole Stacy leaving thing was certainly eating him slowly. Randy hadn't been seen like this in a long time.

"So you haven't heard anything from Stacy?"

"Not a word."

"Listen man, this is all going to be fixed. It's just going to take some time and we'll find her. We'll find Stacy, Emily and Connor. Torrie and I are going to help you and we won't stop until we find her and fix this whole thing between the two of you."

Hearing the reassuring words of his old friend certainly brought some faith back into Randy. He wouldn't settle for anything and he'd finally Stacy in time and fix this whole mess he had gotten himself into.

* * *

The reflection of the moonlight against the sea hadn't looked so beautiful before. The cool breeze brought the necessity of having a warm sweater. Lucky for Kelly, Cody had a big West Beverly sweater in his car for safe keeping.

Was she a horrible person? Spending time outside the hospital wear her boyfriend is in exchange for spending time with someone you love just as much as your boyfriend? These questions didn't have an answer.

Not too far away from the Santa Monica pier, Cody and Kelly walked along the shore line with the busy Santa Monica Pier sticking out behind them. It's been a much quieter summer than usual. Eve had completely disappeared without a trace and Kelly really only had Cody here and Maryse and Nikki sometimes – but mostly Cody was there.

Walking side by side, Cody took Kelly's hand grasping it tightly. She liked it but then she realized she'd be betraying Evan. Come to think of it, these last past few weeks she been betraying him by kissing another boy, sleeping with another boy and now holding hands with another boy. Didn't make any sort of sense.

Kelly snapped her hand away and of course, Cody didn't take it very well, "Why'd you snap your hand away like that? What's the matter?"

"This – this is what's the matter. We're whats the matter ."

"I didn't see you complaining about this when we kiss and when we –"

"Don't," Kelly stopped him from completing his sentence, "I know but it's wrong. Cody, I have a boyfriend who's laying in a hospital bed and hopeful will come out of his coma. I'm a horrible person. This is like worse than cheating."

He'd lie if he didn't feel bad himself. Evan was practically his best friend and he sat here doing this to him. It was wrong. It wasn't right and he wasn't being a good friend but he nor Kelly could control their feelings for one another. If they felt this way, they can't stop it. It's like it's meant to be.

"I understand what you're going through. Evan's my best friend and I'm doing this to him – my own best friend? It bothers me too but you're worth it. You're worth it all. I wouldn't change a damn thing because that's how much you mean to me."

Kelly slowly turned toward Cody, looking him cold into the eyes, "You meant that? Do you really mean that?"

"I do – I could never tell you anything more true than that."

Looking right up his crystal eyes, she leaned forward placing a soft kiss right onto his lips. Cody took the Blonde right into her arms, firmly wrapping them around her waist and accepting her kiss. Their thoughts collided and only one thing was on each other's mind…

One another.

* * *

**A/N:** I know, this was just HORRIBLE!  
One of the worst chapters i've written for this story. Poorly written/Constructed.  
It was mainly because it was a filler chapter. Not much really goes on here so i'm sorry!  
Next Chapter, Senior Year begins! :) And A new Character comes in - any guesses? Clue: It was on one of my polls.  
With school back on, it's much more difficult to update so i'm sorry if some of these are late and all.  
Weekends/Days off are my best bets of actually getting something done.  
And some have asked it there's a life in the hills 4 - to be honest, i'm not sure.  
As i get deeper into college, i have less time to update and i'm getting no ideas :(  
So i've ONLY been thinking of leaving Fanfic after this story is completed. It's only a thought and if it is, this story is not close to even being halfway finished just so you know. I have a feeling this story will go somewhere between the 50 to 60 chapters. YIKES! But there could be a chance for a life in the hills 4, just haven't really thought about it.  
Just thought i should put it out there...  
Thank you for the reviews - take care! xxxxx


	26. Senior Year, Baby!

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty Six _- Senior Year Baby!

The day each student of West Beverly dreaded had finally emanated upon them. The final day of summer has arrived.

A long and loud groan rolled off Maryse's tongue as the calendar on her cellphone was in the midst of telling her tomorrow was Tuesday September 7th, also known as the first day of school. The summer had certainly been a blast from start to finish. It was a summer to remember and thanks to the beach house, it made that all possible.

But – there was certainly something different about this year that would be like no other year they've had. Senior Year begins in the matter of a few hours. No longer would they be juniors and no longer would they have a title as high school student anymore. Once this year was over, life would certainly begin for them all.

Nikki Bella, a returning West Beverly Student, was the first to bring up the reasoning behind Maryse's groan, "I know – tomorrow's September 7th and all of us know what that means; back to School!"

The sarcastic tone of Nikki's comment really portrayed her excitement for the new school year to begin, "Don't remind me; I've been reminded by those stupid commercials on television with the half price notebooks and backpack – they've been airing since the beginning of the summer."

"But," There's always a 'but' in everything, "Its senior year."

Yes, Senior year begins in the matter of twelve hours. After a long three years, those juniors will now become seniors getting one step closer to graduation and one step closer to graduation. The obvious reason of the excitement of senior year wasn't only the chance to escape high school but to enjoy the various senior activities. Pep Rallies, homecoming, prom, Senior testimonials and much more awaited the graduating class of West Beverly High.

"I've dreamed of becoming a senior. Finally, I can run the school and show everyone not to mess with Miss Maryse Ouellet."

"I feel as if you've always ran the school, even as a little freshmen," If Nikki knew traits about Maryse, it was her authority and strength, "But it seems as if you are not going to spend this year along. This whole summer you've had him on the palm of your hand – so what are you going to do about Mike?"

Mike – or the Miz as he likes to be called had a big effect on Maryse this summer. Spending almost every day with the California native at the beach or wherever the day took them, it had been clear that Miz was someone Maryse could truly begin a relationship with but when? It's been two months and nothing has come from him. Time shall tell what happens.

Gathering up some air, Maryse let out a relieving sigh, "Well, I like him and I think he likes me but I'm waiting for him to pull a move on me. I'll always believe that the man coming to the girl is the right thing to do – not vice versa."

Maryse's phone vibrated – she'd received a message from an old friend who had a special talent. The contents of the message had a discreet photograph of one of her fellow students that she had 'specially arranged' to be made. Just looking at her photo got her really upset and it was all supposed to be a punishment for what she decided to do. Looking over to Nikki, she needed some advice, "Nikki," Handing her the phone, she showed her the picture, "Check this out."

The twin's eyes looked over the picture and immediately recognizing the face, her throat gasped in some air, "Oh my god, is that – is that who I think it is?"

"Yeah, it's Eve but it's a fake – this really didn't happen but with help from a good friend and his really good friend, the computer, he managed to snatch this up for me. Now the question is, do I send a mass text tomorrow morning?"

The brown eyes belonging to Nikki didn't exactly go well with Maryse's schedule plan. Obviously, this would ruin Eve – humiliate her to the point where she may never gain back her reputation. The contents of this text could mean the end of Eve.

Nikki rose up onto her feet and looked down on Maryse, "Honestly, I understand that Eve's down a lot but I think this is taking it too far. I know you aren't fond of her whatsoever but this could really humiliate her. If you want to get back at her, I wouldn't take it to this level. It's just a little too much."

_Maybe she's right.._

The stunt was a little out there and to think of the aftermath was even more devastating. Looking over her cell phone, she placed it down and decided – not to do anything.

"Yeah, I won't do it – it's too mean, even for me."

Nikki Bella responded with a compassionate smile, "I'm glad. Well, I'm off to go pack. I have a ton of crap to take home early tomorrow morning so I'll just get a head start," And away the Bella twin off, into the house and straight up to her room.

Continuing to lay on the beach chair, her eyes took her up to the sky and there, she looked at the ever so bright sky, with stars shining down right onto her. What could Senior year bring for Maryse? It's such a big year, if not the biggest year of them all. After this, life would be completely different. High school would be over and then, she'd continue on and go to college.

So much waited for her tomorrow – including the possibility of seeing Ted. Once her eyes lay upon him, she just knew all those memories would rush back to her. Senior year was suppose too be amazing and fun, but maybe now it won't be. If she sees Ted everywhere, what could she do? It's not like she can help it and avoid him forever. That's nearly impossible. All she knew was when she sees him, tomorrow or whatever day it is, it's going to hurt; It's going to hurt to know that she never got the chance she deserved with him.

When she sees Eve, that will be a much different story for sure. What could be worse; seeing Ted or seeing Eve? Neither seemed to be easy.

Once she pulled herself up from the chair, she felt a force push her back down, applying a strong grip onto her tiny body. Her head twirled around, to see Miz applying a tight grip on the blonde. His lips churned up into a smirk and he simply laughed, "Did I scare you neighbor?"

Pushing his hands off, she cried out, "Of course – please don't do that again or I'll rip you a new hole in your face."

His response was full of chuckles while the blonde gave him a stern look, "I'm sorry – I didn't think I was going to scare you," Looking over to Maryse's lap, he could see the phone laying on her lap and quite the interesting photo of Eve there. With his hand, he snatched it out of and examined the X-rated photograph, "Woah, Eve is seriously getting it by this dude. Where the hell did you get this picture of her?"

"It's not real; it's a photo shopped picture. I was just thinking.."

"Of going to the bathroom and doing some naughty things with that picture? Hurry up because I'd like my shot at it.."

The disgusting comment was answered with a slap onto his arm, "You're disgusting, you know that? But I was really thinking of using it for something different. Since Eve had ruined a lot for me, I figured I could ruin her and a mass text of this could do just the thing but I don't know. I mean, it's really bad but I'm just so confused. It's a really – I mean really horrible thing to do.."

"…and did she not do a horrible thing to you? She tried – or maybe even slept with your boyfriend. If you ask me, she deserves it."

This wasn't much of a decision he was against, since after all he had failed at charming up Eve before and she ended up turning him down. _No one turns down the Miz…_ Miz could care less what could happen; he just cared about himself and no one else.

Maryse's finger played over the send button. All the contacts were listed and it was ready to go in a matter of seconds. If she did this, she knew she'd ruin her reputation…but then, Eve ruined Maryse's chances with Ted but seducing or sleeping with him before. Just then, a bolt of anger rushed through her body, right into her index finger causing her to push the button.

And now, Eve's life would be made into a complete living hell – but she didn't know what was coming for her now.

* * *

8:27am – the day begins now with Eve managing to get her car through the overly packed parking lot, ultimately getting a spot in between a BMW and Escalade. If there was somewhere she didn't want to be, it was right here. Her wobbly legs pushed her up, removing herself from the vehicle to be greeted by the students around her.

Cheerleaders filled the area, promoting the senior year along with the sign that read "Welcome Back Wildcats – and Class of 2011" and of course, the freshmen were walking through scared for their life as they begin a brand new school.

If there was any other place she could be in, it would not be here. A summer of isolation, gossip and rumors don't add much to help her. It certainly wouldn't be surprising if everyone knows about the dirt on her. It was only a matter of time to deny it or figure out a way to escape the complicated situation. Plenty of questions would be rolling off the tongues of her classmates.

Senselessly walking down the stone passageway, eyes would trail her down her body. Smirks alluded directly towards her, some were glares and other chooses to laugh while gazing at the Latina. Certainly it was odd – she'd expect people to question her as when she heard the rumors but something seemed different about this – it seemed way to fishy.

Once inside the main hallway, Eve Torres continued to be greeted by additional gazes. In the palm of their hands, they'd look at their cellphone and right back at Eve, following with a laugh or smirk.

The stares got to her. Her chin came further down and she'd refuse to really look at anyone.

Her main goal: Get out of there as soon as she could.

Lucky for her, the bathroom was right there. Passing by the swinging door, she escaped the humiliation though she had no idea why. One girl came by, covering her laugh as she departed and Eve just speculated.

Eve stood before the sink, gazing into the mirror. _What the hell is going around here? Let's hope it isn't bad. Fingers crossed. _

Her fingers trickled over and her hair neatly placed above her ear. A trickle of sweat came running down her cheek, fear engulfed her body. Chatter filled up the room once again and coming through the door was Natalya 'Nattie' Neidhart and Beth Phoenix, members of the volleyball team and softball teams.

"I can't believe this picture got out of her – I wonder if she knows about it yet," Says the Canadian blonde to her friend, "This is completely embarrassing."

Agreeing, Beth nodded along, "I don't know what I would do if this happened to me. A text message with me having sex with a guy? I don't know how I would take that all."

And once the pair of blonde ladies looked forward, to see Eve standing before them, they suddenly stopped and Nattie was the first to talk, "Oh, hi Eve – didn't know you were in here."

"I was just fixing up my makeup. How was your summer girls?" In hopes of keeping the conversation on a different topic, summer seemed to be a good topic to speak on, "I heard you guys went to some volleyball camp in San Diego. How was it?"

"It was really good," Nattie mumbled along. Her face grew into a much sour look when coming closer to Eve, "Are you okay? I mean, did you hear or see anything?"

"Not a thing. What's going on?"

Nattie's lips pursued together in nervousness, while her hand slipped into her jeans pocket and pulled out her cellphone. Going into the messages folders, she pulled up the text message she received earlier this morning, "Now, I got this text message this morning and there's something inside about you," Nattie's hand came forward, showing the photograph to Eve.

The image would probably never be erased from her memory. Her world was crashing down slowly once the contents of the message had been revealed to her. A text message containing an explicit photograph of Eve was now circulating around West Beverly High school. This could very well be the one thing that could ruin just about everything for her. This sick text message would ruin her reputation, social life and important of all, her life. Taking a step back, her back eventually hit the stall and that's where she completely froze.

"I'm so sorry Eve. Beth and I just got this text this morning with it. We have no idea who did it but everyone in school has gotten this message. I'm so sorry – is there anything we can do? Maybe you can fake that you're sick and get sent home. I can't even begin to think about what you're going through."

"No… It's fine. I'll just be alone for now. Thank you for telling me."

Once Nattie and Beth left the room, Eve backed up into the stall, shutting the door and sitting on the toilet seat. Her face crashed into her hands, tears managed to escape the cracks in her hands and she realized that she was living in the midst of hell.

* * *

Keeping this large grin over her face, Maryse Ouellet knew what day it was. Senior year has officially begun.

Walking through the hallway – for the first time as a senior – she caught the attention of several other students in her clad pink off the shoulder top, white shorts and silver sandals. Of course, she was feeling on top of the world along with her friends. Nikki to her left; Kelly to the right with Nikki in a white dress with matching white wedges while Kelly kept it simple with ripped jeans, flip flops and a white shirt and green vest. The ladies had put on their very best for the first day of class.

"Look at us ladies – we're seniors. It's been a long and dark road but we've finally made it here," Announced Maryse, in such a calming and soothing tone while the trio walked forward, "Oh, it's going to be a marvelous year."

"Is it me or could this be the first time that Maryse said something good about school? Normally, she'd say something like – we're back in this dump or have installed the latte machine she's been asking for since freshmen year?" The odd attitude and personality was first noticed by Kelly.

"Once she gets through having Styles next, she'll be over the whole thing – trust me," Said Nikki, who grinned at Kelly, "Besides, look right there – Maryse's latte wish may be coming true."

A young female stayed position in the middle of the hallway with only a check board and pen, taking signatures for a very strong cause. The cause: Installing a latte machine in the cafeteria.

"Please up support the installation of the latte machine in the cafeteria, my fellow wildcats!" Shouted the dedicated protester, who goes by the name of Jamie Keyes, "Let West Beverly give us high quality coffee, instead of the crap they get from the ninety nine cent stores."

Catching Maryse's attention, she came forward to Jamie, "This is a cause I'm willing to fight for. Enough of the whole going green movement, I'd like a caffeine movement. Count me in Jamie!"

Signing on the dotted line, Maryse wrote down her name – as well as several other names that don't exist, "So Maryse, do you have some sort of alias like Roberta Dominguez or Kathy Lee Giford?" Kelly proposed, looking before the list of very odd names, "And let us not forget Hannah Montana. I completely forget the pop sensation is a sophomore here."

Kelly was a bit excited for the new school year. So much was in store this year, since after all it was senior year. After this year was over, she'd be free to do whatever she pleases. The world was in the palm of her hands.

Once she'd turn the corner, her eyes would look against her blue locker, number 27 and one individual leaning against it, clothed in gray sneakers, dark jeans and a red hoodie. Getting a more distinct image of who was there, she'd freeze in her spot once her brain would evaluate who it was standing before her.

Seeing is believing, "…Evan, is that – is that you?" The girl sounded unsure if it was truly him standing right before him, as her steps brought her closer to him.

"You're not seeing a ghost or anything and yeah, it's really me," His large arms came around her waist, pulling the young blonde into a hug. It certainly felt amazing to have her back in his arms, "I missed doing this."

This was shocking, to say the least. Who could expect to see their boyfriend, who was in a coma, standing right before you? No one, but apparently Kelly was the lucky little lady. Breaking out of the hug, Evan still held onto Kelly's hand. He smiled right her and was feeling completely amazing.

"Did you miss me?"

"I – I did. How could I not be happy to see you?" Proposed Kelly, just when Nikki and Maryse came over, the two who were also extremely surprised to see Evan standing, walking and breathing, "Girls, Evan's here."

"You're not in a coma anymore!"

Nikki looked over to Maryse, nudging her, "She really meant to say she's happy to see that your okay. Just forget what else she says because half the stuff doesn't even make much sense."

"I got that down about a year ago."

As Nikki and Maryse walked over to speak to another, Kelly stayed with Evan – catching up on a few things, "Okay, can you tell me what the hell is going on? Your mom said you were still in the hospital and nothing had happened. Start explaining now."

"Well – where should I begin? Apparently, it happened last night. I suddenly woke up and both my parents were there. They told me what had happened, since I didn't remember anything from the night it happened and I was going to call you but I figured I could maybe surprise you instead, since you love surprises."

"You don't remember anything from that night everything happened?"

His memory was a blue – only a certain things he was able to remember from that night, "All I remember was the junior ring ceremony and nothing after that. Like just when I got my ring, I don't remember anything after that. It's a complete blank. The doctor said it would happen."

If she's correct, Cody and Evan's fight didn't happen until after the ceremony so is it possible that Evan loss his memory from that point on? "You don't remember the after party or anything?"

Evan nodded in response to the answer, "Like I said, it's a blur. I can't recall anything from that and probably I never will regain any memory unless if anyone tells me what had happened that night but do you know what happened at all?"

Licking around her lips, her eyes noticed Cody walking along the hallway and called out, "Cody! Come over here!"

Getting the attention of the male, his smile glowed when he noticed Kelly – it wasn't until he saw Evan, holding her hand and smiling right back at him, "Oh, what the – Evan, man. You're okay, this is really surprising!" Cody and Evan slapped hands with one another, "Good to see you back man."

"It's great to be back. I can't even believe this whole mess happened to me but at least I'm better, just in time for senior year to start. Aren't you guys pumped?"

For Cody, seeing Evan standing on his two feet is great. Just seeing him, holding Kelly's hand isn't so great. Kelly and Cody had a talk that they want to be together but if this is going on, how could they be together? _Evan must have lost his memory or something. _It's also odd how Evan acted like nothing had happened between the two so he had to assume he's lost some sort of memory because it's impossible for Evan to hide or forget something happens just like that.

"Come on Kelly," His arm extended over his shoulder and he began to pulled Kelly away, "We've got class now."

"I've actually got to go to the main office and get something quick. How about I just meet you in class in like two minutes?" Requested the blonde, in hopes he wouldn't tag along with her.

"Yeah, I'll meet you there but just don't be too long okay?"

Firmly nodding at him, it gave Evan to go to head into class and once Kelly had turned around, she could see the hurt in Cody's face watching the two of them kiss and embrace one another. It was his girl out there, doing that with his friend. This whole mess has just gotten messier.

Letting out a long sigh, Kelly replied, "I've got to think of something. How the hell are we going to handle this all?"

Cody only came up with one logically decision, "Well I have an idea. Just tell him the truth. Finish it off with him so we can be together since it's what we both want."

Kelly response wasn't one Cody would have liked but she was feeling that it was more well deserved, "How can I just end it with him? And how can you just say that like it's nothing? Evan's your best friend so you don't care if you hurt him after this all. I don't know about you but I'm in the middle of something I really can't handle. This isn't as easy as it looks and I'm so disgusted with you. Maybe you've made my decision a little bit easier now."

The harsh comments from Cody were surprising and disturbing. Kelly didn't even want to look at him any longer so she turned around, walking away from him in hopes that he'll understand something – Not everything is as easy as it seems.

* * *

Shaking sprinted through her body anytime she was in front of a large group of people – half of which didn't even seem too thrilled to see the Louisiana native. Her feet quivered and she could feel the chills racing up and down, her stomach turning in a twist and her mindless fiddling with her hands.

Beside to her was her teacher, introduced earlier as Mrs. Vickie Guerrero but the alarming and disinterested faces before her brought so many nerves into play. Normally, she felt a little more outspoken and strong in the public eye but something was really intimidating her. Televisions, films and other media outlets tend to portray the residents of Beverly Hills act like this. Tiffany never thought it would very well be true – until now that is.

Her smile remained glowing, just to avoid putting up a different image of herself. Back in Louisiana, she had much of a different life – something far far from what she's experiencing right now. Her family lived in a quiet town outside of New Orleans a town no one would know about and where they'd know nothing about the outside world. It's like living back in the eighteenth century and now she's got a much bigger glimpse on the twenty first century. In exchange for the small homes and ditzy vehicles they were turned into multi-million dollar mansions and sports cars, with odd names to them.

Home, she was a smart girl – if not the smartest. Years of studying and working hard had paid off extremely well for her. Albert Einstein certainly had some competition compared to Tiffany, a girl who was able to apply for college the year before but deciding she wanted to have a normal high school career, she turned down the offer and opted to wait one more year to go to College at the Harvard with all her friends but that certainly changed.

Literally, the Terrell family moved in just a few days ago. Too many issues to discuss why the family decided to leave but they all needed a change from their older surroundings. No nasty divorce or anything along the lines of that; Unfortunately, her grandmother was sick and since neither of her father's siblings decided to help, he offered a hand and brought his whole family to live in Tiffany's grandmother's in Beverly Hills.

First impressions are important; that explains why Tiffany decided to wear an unusual dress with blue dress along with a red ribbon wrapping around her stomach and a pair of matching brown sandals. Just before she had gone to bed, she prayed and wished she had found a perfect dress to fit in. The stern looks didn't seem to help anything for the young girl.

"Now Class," Mrs. Guerrero spoke in her least terrifying tone possible which happens to be a rare thing the teacher would do, "Let's all quiet down because I'd like everyone to meet the newest student here from – where are you from again dear?"

"Louisiana – Abita Springs. It's really close to New Orleans," Answering the question as sweet as possible, she smiled afterwards. Even more thrilling was seeing someone raise their hand.

"Yes Mr. Otunga – do you have a question for us?"

"Yeah yeah, I got a question for Tyra," David Otunga said, just as his hand came down and began to rub down on his chin.

"It's actually Tiffany," Only a little annoyed by the mistake – since she just said it two seconds ago – Tiffany decided to let it be water under the bridge.

Clearing his throat for a moment, he barreled on, "So, you just moved her from Louisiana right? Was it because that hurricane blew you out of the farm and all the way over here?" Not a moment laughter David and his friend, Heath Slater began to drastically laugh while other students rolled their eyes at the immature and stupid joke. It only appeared that the two of them had found it funny. Tiffany on the other hand felt a little hurt that her first class and introduction was just a joke.

"Excuse me!" The lower and sweeter tone was just a little cover until the Mrs. Guerrero finally came out, "David and Heath, looks like you'll be the first two guys to attend detention with yours truly."

They'd finally stop laughing and Tiffany's smile came glowing back. Once her throat was cleared up, Mrs. Guerrero began speaking once again, "Class, this is Tiffany Terrell. She and her family just moved all the way from Louisiana so I'd like you to give her all a nice warm welcome."

No change in reaction – if anything, they've gotten more upset than excited about this. _So much for the warm welcome…_

"I see a seat right over there, next to Layla – why don't you go and take a seat over there okay?"

Lifting up her feet, Tiffany squeezed through the row – almost tripping on a bag or two – soon arriving at her seat, Tiffany dropped her notebook onto the table and looked straight. Upon looking to her left, her eyes meet with another blonde. He smiled and in return, she smiled as well. It wasn't until his face was blockaded by the face of a female, directly smile back at her.

"So you're from Louisiana? How's Mardi Gras over their? I've always wanted to go.."

"I've went for the festivities but never managed to stay since everything is twenty one and over. I'd usually go home after that."

"But you didn't have a fake ID or some kind of connection?"

Tiffany pursed her lips together, nodding in disagreement, "I don't even like to drink or anything. I hate drinking and smoking. You'll never catch me with a beer or cigarette in my hand. The damage it does is unbearable."

Following her short speech, the brunette offered a soft chuckle, "I'm Layla by the way – I know what it's like to come here from such a different place. I mean, I use to live on Tower Road and when I had to move all the way to Beverly Grove drive; it was such a big transition. It took me weeks to get use to everything."

"How far was it from your old home?"

Waiting for an answer, she certainly got something she didn't expect, "Two blocks."

"Oh.." Tiffany rested her hand before the cold desk table, leaning a bit forward but not losing eye contact with Layla, "That must have been really tough for you."

"I don't even like to think of the emotional distress I went through," Shrugging off her pain, Layla continued forward, "Listen, how about after class we hang out? I'm a cool girl and you're a cool girl – it seems like we can be friends. You can meet my other friends too, Rosa and Alicia. They're going to love you. I can already see it."

A little taken back by it all, her first day and her first class it appears as if she's found her first friend, "So does this mean we're friends?"

Her lip glossed lips curved up into a smile and then she finally said, "Sure – we're friends."

* * *

The year had certainly gotten off on the right foot – especially for Nikki Bella.

The mirror resting upon her locker door was currently in use for fixing up her hair quickly, before her next class would begin. Her fingers traced down her hair, removing any tangles that could be in her straight brown hair. Blowing a kiss into the mirror, she was officially satisfied with her appearance.

Closing her locker door slowly and gently, she'd begin to regret ever doing that because with what she was about to see, she'd want to punch in the locker door.

Dolph Ziggler remained faced toward his locker. Nikki's exceptional day had just gone completely sour when she saw him. Nikki didn't have a clue in her mind that Dolph attended school at West Beverly; in reality, she just believed he was another one of Miz's stupid friends from somewhere else than West Beverly. The man was a tool. Inconsiderate and pathetic would be the perfect words Nikki would use to describe the platinum haired male. To think, she just thought she had to deal with his antics for the summer – there was something else coming for her and it didn't look to well.

A long groan emitted from her throat and into the air, loud enough for him to hear him. Dolph's head twisted over and a smile divulged his face, "Nikki Bella, are you stalking me now? I mean, if you want me already, you just have to tell me. I'll say yes," Once retrieving the books he needed, he shut his locker and walk over to her, "So is that a yes?"

Nikki's eyes traveled to the seeing and she had a request for the man upstairs, "God, just shoot me now. Take the gun and finish me off."

Dolph laughed at Nikki's comical jokes, "I thought the whole time you lived somewhere else because I didn't see you here at West Beverly last year nor the year before. Did you just move here because you heard I go here?"

"Aren't you quiet the little genius and mind reader – that's the exact reason I decided to come here…"

Of course, it was sarcasm. This is Nikki Bella we're talking about.

"Maybe I'll see you in one of my classes – maybe even all of them," He shot her a wink, hoping it was entice her but it really only did the opposite, "And you'll get to see a much more of me."

"Oh yeah, that's just what my life needs right now. More Dolph Ziggler – every young girl's dream!"

Dolph smirked, "So I'll see you around but don't miss me now, Nikki."

"I'll try my absolute hardest, Dolph."

Once he disappeared into the crowd of students, Nikki let out one huge sigh. The torture was over. Now, she had to figure out a way to avoid the man until graduation. Where could she begin?

Maryse wasn't too far behind and eventually made her way to Nikki with a complaint, "Nikki, did you know Alicia got her own personal parking spot in the parking lot? I mean, where does she get the nerve and this power to do that? I swear, I'm going to talk to principal McMahon about this all or maybe Kelly's sister – she's a guidance counselor and she's good a talking so I could ask Torrie and she'll tell Principal McMahon. Wow, people are right. I am a complete genius."

Apparently Maryse was in her own domain but that didn't stop Nikki from interrogating her, "Did you know that Dolph goes to West Beverly?"

Flicking her hair back, Maryse said, "Yeah, he's been here since sophomore year – didn't you know that?"

"Apparently not," Informed Nikki Bella, who cringed at the thought of him yet again, "Wonderful – I have to deal with him for the whole year. This is just perfect. Right when I think this year is going to be wonderful, he's here. I need help, spiritual or medical. Either is good."

Seeing her friend down because of a guy doesn't flow well with Maryse, "Relax honey. It isn't the end of the world."

"Yeah, not of yours but surely is the end of mine."

Whipping her around, Nikki turned her back on Maryse and walked away from her friend. Not long after, Maryse started to depart from the lockers and made her way to the nearest women's bathroom. Empty. The room was empty and the sound of Maryse's heels filled the air. Resting comfortable beside the mirror, Maryse tuned up her makeup and began to apply a light colored lip gloss against her smooth lips. Noise appeared from one of the stalls. Eventually, the middle stall opened out and in came out, Eve Torres.

Suddenly freezing, Maryse stopped applying her lip gloss and continued to stare surprisingly at the mirror. From the moment Eve saw Maryse there, she stopped right in her spot and didn't even move. The two ladies just stared at one another and slowly, the stares turned much grimmer.

Just by looking right at her, Maryse's mind replayed junior night all over again, from walking in to running out in tears. Eve took the one thing she cared for on this earth right out of her fingers. Her body fueled with anger that she'd remove the lip gloss from her hand and turn her body around, facing Eve – eye to eye.

The hatred in Maryse was made known and Eve could see it. Eve's eyes were watery from tearing up to the humiliation she'd been going through at the moment. Seeing Maryse before her wasn't making the situation any better.

"I could have remembered to tell you that I never wanted to see you again," the cold tone in her voice could signify that she did not want anything to do with Eve.

"I was just leaving... So no need to worry or anything," As Eve covered her face, her eyes located the door and just when she was going to reach the handle.

"Oh and Eve, I never knew how flexible you were in the bedroom. You make me jealous."

Stopping right in front of the door, Eve's head turned over and glared right at the blonde who's glare had turn into an devilish smirk at the moment. Her cold and senseless glare didn't even hurt Maryse – in fact, her smirk just continued to grow if anything.

Eve found the energy to open the door and leave, while Maryse stood their feeling extremely victorious – Eve was beginning to feel worse than she already did. Senior year wasn't looking to good for the young Latina. It was only going downhill from now.

* * *

Tiffany was happy.

Her first day at a new school and surrounded by her was her new friends, Layla, Alicia and Rosa. Layla had been sweeter than ever to the new student, inviting her to eat with her friends at lunch. For once, Tiffany was feeling more welcome than ever. Her first image of her first day here was nothing like she had pictured it. Her fear of becoming isolated hadn't come true and the exact opposite was happened.

To her left, Layla sat by her and across from her were Alicia and Rosa, who couldn't stop staring at Tiffany. It was getting odder than ever before Layla broke the ice, "You know Tiffany is from New Orleans, where they have Mardi gras every year."

Alicia looked over, in the most careless and disgusted look possible and began to say, "Lucky her. I remember when I went to Mardi gras last year. I got so many of those beads like I think I had about twenty beads. That was one hell of a night."

Tiffany crinkled up her lips and said, "Don't you get beads from taking off your top? Because if my memory serves me right, I'd see on the news report a lot of girls and sometimes guys, revealing something they shouldn't and getting beads in return. Maybe you were one of them?"

Alicia gave Tiffany a grim look before uttering off a fake laugh. Rosa and Layla decided to laugh it off, "Alicia sure likes to put things out in the open a lot – don't cha Alicia?"

"Shut up! You're the one who put her legs out this whole summer for Montel or MVP as you call him but you didn't get any beads.."

A smirk came across her face before Tiffany started to ask a question about him, "What did you do with the MVP? What team is he on?"

"No – No, Tiffany. MVP is his initials to his name. He's name is Montel and he's some guy I had a summer fling with. He comes here and he's on the football team," Layla caught the large man, on the line for lunch with Jack Swagger, "He's right over there, on the line for lunch."

Her eyes traveled to the lunch line and she saw MVP, the man Layla had spoken about but somebody else had caught her eye too. The blonde individual standing before him, who she happened to see in her class; who's apparent name is Jack. As Tiffany continued to gaze, the girls especially Layla noticed how Tiffany couldn't stop staring at MVP and she slowly grew angry. _Who the hell does she think she is? Staring at him like that…_

"I just remembered I have to visit the guidance counselor's office. You said we're going to hang out later right?"

Layla turned to her, with her smile growing, "Yeah, just meet us in the courtyard after your last class and we'll go."

"Great – see you then."

Once Tiffany had disappeared from the lunchroom, the smile Layla once had on was now turning into a fowl expression, "Can you believe her? She was eyeing my man all along and right in front of me. Who does she think she is?"

"I saw it. Her eyes were practically glued at him. She was probably dreaming of what she could do to him or something," Added in Rosa, in defense of her friend, "And I don't even like her that much. Can we just get rid of her?"

"She implied that I was a slut!"

"Well…" Rosa chirped in, "There's something I can't agree with you on."

Alicia turned over to Rosa and glared at the Latina, "Why the hell are you agreeing with her? I am not a slut."

"That's not what Andrew Scott, Hamilton George, Kirk Matthews nor the other 20 other guys you hooked up with when we went to Barbados for the summer!"

"Let's stop with this arguing okay?" Layla informed her friends, "Tiffany has just messed with the wrong set of girls and trust me, she's going to pay for this in the worst way possible," Nobody dares to cross Layla El and she'd make Tiffany pay in the worst way possible, "So I'm thinking we've got our target for a good old senior prank? What do you ladies says?"

* * *

The Day's end had rapidly approached.

She felt comfortable; just in general. The beginnings of senior year was really – calm and collective. One certain aspect of the day that was certainly not appearing today was Maryse's good old friend, Drama. Unfortunately, drama couldn't attend the first day of school and decided to take a rain check. But she didn't want to get ahead of herself. Drama has it's weird way of coming back to you and biting you right in the behind.

Drama free senior year – it was Maryse's goal. If anything, she'd want to leave that all behind and look at the more appealing things that are going on this year, like prom, homecoming, senior trip and many other school related events. In general, she was looking forward to the new year ahead of her. Her goal to avoid drama would of course be difficult since after all she is Maryse Ouellet. Every time the word drama had been utter out of someone's lips, Maryse's name would usually follow in a more disgusted tone if anything. For once in her young life, she didn't want to be in the middle of drama. This year is supposed to be a fun year – not a horrible one.

What struck out as being odd to her was not seeing Ted at all, since everything had happened just a few months ago. The whole day had gone by and not an appearance from her. The topic of Ted would always create some inner anger. His actions had never been forgiven nor has he tried to reach out to her during this whole ordeal. His lips hadn't even said the words "I'm sorry" or anything near close to that. His selfish attitude and careless personality could have been a warning sign of what to expect from him. It had made her feel even more horrible that he may have no regret for what he had done.

Could this have all been some sort of sick game? Was Ted just playing with Maryse's mind and heart? Ted's real goal could have been just trying to get closer to Eve by using her. Even Maryse wasn't that capable of doing such a thing even if she comes across as being a complete bitch, somewhere behind that all she had a limit and she knew she wasn't going to cross that line. Ted DiBiase seemed to care less about the line he was about to cross and did it regardless of whom he would have hurt in the process.

Relaxed on the stone foundation of the courtyard, Maryse doodled down a few thoughts that'd she place into the senior suggestion box. The purpose of the senior suggestion box was to get the students opinions on what to do for prom's theme, homecoming theme, senior trip ideas and several more. Against the line for the question – Where should we host senior trip? – Maryse's answer was quiet the interesting one. When it comes time to reveal the contents of the box, Maryse's suggestion of two weeks in Bora Bora would be highly considered. Maryse could already see the idea being proposed.

Her paper slid off to the slid and flew into the pathway. Maryse stood before her feet and quickly reached to grip the letter, only to be beaten by another's. The individual's hand took a hold of the paper and he got back up into a proper stance. Maryse would soon follow suit and her body would build up, firmly straight and her eyes locked right into the eyes of the individual before her.

Her body had completely frozen up once her mind had processed who was standing before her. Her heart would begin to sink deeper into her body and that same feeling she'd gotten from him the first time she'd seen him was back. Most important of all, he was back – Ted DiBiase.

Awkward silence filled up the air between the two. Looking him dead into his eyes, the ones she had fallen for before, brought back so much pain. The events of the night just came flashing back in that very moment. The image of Eve and Ted and the tears she shed following afterwards.

Ted stood there, feeling ashamed and guilty. Surely, what he did was wrong. If Ted had regrets – which weren't many – this had to be the biggest one. They've could have been so much but that was quickly slashed away because of his anger. He couldn't control his anger for the life of him and sometimes when you're angry, you do little silly things.

"It's you," The evident disgusted tone of Maryse could only express her anger, "Nice of you to show up. I thought you had disappeared off the face of the earth."

"I really need to talk to you. It's about the junior night at the hotel," He was just asking for a chance to possibly make this all okay.

"Well, you haven't spoken in about two months so you can speak now. Say whatever you have to say."

This was his chance to finally open up and apologize for everything he had done to her. He bit down on his lip softly, getting together his thoughts before he began his apology.

"I'm sorry. That night with Eve was a mistake. I never meant to do anything, it was just that I was angry and I didn't know how else to control my anger that night. It was just a huge mistake and this apology should have come earlier but I didn't know how I could come up to you and tell you how sorry I am. I just want to put that behind us and move forward – with us."

Ted snuck his hands into Maryse's. He looked directly into her eyes and she'd continue to frown. Surely his apology was meaningful – but that's not enough.

"I waited two months – Two damn months Ted! All summer long, I couldn't get you out of my damn mind. You had this huge effect on me and when I finally tell you how I feel, you decide to hook up with one of my best friends. How could you? I just went on how much I'm in love with you but you must have not heard. Did a part of you actually have feelings for me or was this some sort of sick ploy to get closer to Eve? I just want the truth. I deserve that."

"Eve was nowhere in my mind. She was never the girl I wanted to be with – it was just you and only you. I can't even explain why I did it – I just did and I feel bad every day and I just want you to forgive me so we can restart."

She wanted to believe him – deep down she wanted to believe him and let this go but you can't always let things go like that when they're so serious. This was something that was possibly unforgiveable.

Her head titled downwards and in a low tone, she replied with a one word answer, "No."

Ted could feel his own heart breaking, which was a first for him as well and at this point, he could finally see that he was losing her and it was his entire fault. His insecurities had gotten the best of him and he couldn't just blame this on someone else. This was his fault entirely. "Maryse, we can work this out. Come on, we can look passed this or what can I do to make this better? Just tell me and I'll do it."

"You can leave me alone – That's how you'll make this all better."

"No, Maryse."

As much as she didn't want to say what she was about to say, she had to, "I've already moved on Ted and I suggest you do the same as well," At the corner of her eye, she could see the person she just wanted to see, "Goodbye Ted."

Releasing her from his hand, he officially lost her. Ted would watch lifeless as Maryse walked over and stopped before one person. Maryse curved her lips into a smile and once in the presence of the person, Maryse wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

Ted's heart had officially collapsed down into pieces.

She wasn't lying when she said she was moving on. Ted's eyes continued to witness the account of the Miz and Maryse unable to keep their hands off one another. He knew exactly how it felt now. He could place himself into Maryse's shoes when she saw Eve and himself kiss. Now, she could emotionally feel the pain. He couldn't bear to stand there any longer so he turned his heel and walked in the other direction.

Senior year had certainly started with one hell of a bang.

* * *

**A/N:** Here's another Chapter - please leave a review!  
How do you feel about the addition of Tiffany? Let me hear it ;)  
Next Chapter, Eve's situation worsens and AJ receives a knock at his door.


	27. The New Beginning

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty Seven _- The New Beginning

If the first day wasn't bad enough, how'd the third day be going? Heck, how'd the rest of what has seemed to be a long week go? Everything points to her week not being so well.

Never had she felt this alone before – more alone than her first day of school last year, just around this same time. Literally, she had no one. Who she thought was her only friend – Kelly – didn't even show up to her to even talk or say something. Obviously, Eve had no definite answer to why exactly she was doing this but there was a pretty good reason it would be like this and her name is Maryse.

The leech, as Eve likes to call her, would be sucking on Kelly's mind letting in lies and rumors about the brunette. It was obvious that Maryse's goal was to ruin Eve's life and she was definitely getting exactly what she wanted.

And of course, with the emotional pain – it came it's repercussions. Her looks deteriorated. No makeup applied nor effort into taking care of her hair, with was in a messy bunch of curls. Her image fit into her loneliness.

Remaining seated against her car, the Latina's eyes traveled forward and straight across from her happened to be Kelly, with a nervous look across her face and slowly came forward to the brunette to share a few words, "Eve –" Said Kelly, calmly as she could, "Can we talk for a little?"

"Then let's talk," Opening up for once, She accepted Kelly's invitation.

"So what's going on? Is this all true that you were trying to seduce Ted on junior night, like Maryse said? And what's with the picture of you going around? How could you send the picture of yourself around school?"

A little more information she wasn't quite aware about, "What the… Kelly, would you think in my right mind that I'd send a picture of myself around school? Like I'd really like to make it seem as if I'm the school whore and no, I didn't try to seduce Ted. Ted came onto me. Maryse is just lying to you. She's lying to everyone to make herself look like the poor victim and I wouldn't be surprised if she sent out the text."

"This is just what I heard and I –"

Rudely interrupted, Eve would shot a disgusted glare and continue to berate Kelly, "You just believe this whole mess because Maryse was the bitch who decided to start all of this. She's the reason I'm like this and I didn't do anything to her to intentionally hurt her. But whatever, believe whatever the hell you'd like Kelly."

The stern cold tone in Eve's words didn't sit well with the blonde. Though she hadn't been there for Eve as of lately, it wasn't Kelly's fault for that – Kelly had tried repeatedly to reach out to Eve and it constantly failed.

"Listen, you'll get pass this. I'll be here to help you."

And that's what hit a roadblock for Eve, "Help from you?" To Eve, it sounded a lot like a pathetic joke, "Where were you this summer? You were nowhere to be found and I bet you were too busy soaking up the sun at Maryse's fabulous beach house to even think for a second, where the hell was your real friend.

She felt hurt that Eve would go and say that, "Honestly Eve, I had no idea what the hell you are talking about. Since that party, I was trying to call you constantly but you never answered! I'd call your house and you'd be 'out' according to your mother and I would email you and text you and guess what? I got nothing. You isolated yourself – you did it too yourself. I was your friend and I reached out to you and you did one thing – you decided to ignore me so don't come and blame me for your problem. I had nothing to do with it."

"Screw you Kelly!" Sharply and loudly, Eve answered her friend in such a harsh tone. A fight had brewed between the two of them and it certainly wasn't one you'd push to the side.

"Whatever, I tried. It's your loss Eve..."

Turning her back to Eve, Kelly strutted away. Deep down inside, Kelly felt extremely horrible but what exactly could she do? Eve was blaming her for something she had no part in and it made her feel hurt. She just wanted to help but in the end, she was turned into the enemy.

Eve sternly watched as Kelly walked off and slowly, creeping behind her – the center of all this chaos was coming right for her. His finger reached over and gently tapped onto hers. Hopping in fear, Eve turned her body around and saw the individual who was the source of all the travesty going on in the community of Beverly Hills.

"You really scared me, Ted."

He pursued his lips against one another, come over to Eve's side, "Didn't mean too but I came over to talk to you, see how your holding up and all."

"You want to see how I am holding up? That's what you came over to see?" Her sarcastic remarks weren't quiet met as he would like it but she'd be sure to go on, "Let's begin with you, who ruined my entire life by kissing me and then it comes by with the whole school thinking I was trying to seduce you. It gets even better, I go back to Denver expecting to see all of my old friends but I get completely humiliated and embarrassed there and I have the loneliest summer possible and then what happens, I come through her and apparently there's a text message of myself going around of myself having sex with someone. Try and figure out on your own on how I'm holding up."

Everything young Eve has been through has certainly been painful and tragic but Ted couldn't exactly do that much about it all, "I'm sorry but I have no idea how to make this whole thing up to you."

"You want to make this up to me?" Asked Eve, as her arms folded up, "Here's something you could try to 'make this up to me' – you can stay the hell away from me!"

His final comments set her off and she quickly departed away from her presence, not to be seen and fulfilling what she had wanted from him in the first place.

And Ted could only watch on and see the chaos he had created and it's devastating aftermath.

* * *

The bell had rang through his ears as it was another reminder for Mr. AJ Styles that he could no longer continue the history lesson he'd so dearly spent working on.

"Well Class, I'll see you all tomorrow and be sure to begin reading FDR's speech – don't be surprised to see a pop quiz sometime this week.."

Quickly and nicely, the class had slowly begun to exit the room and soon, it would be full of empty desks and not a student in sight. Before him stood a stack of papers that needed to be graded and filed immediately. The life of a teacher, especially at West Beverly, wasn't an easy one and never would be easy.

He could hear a few steps coming down the hall but he wasn't aware that it would lead up into his classroom.

"Hello Mr. Styles…"

The voice sounded oddly familiar to him and once his eyes lay upon the woman before him, he was able to put a face to the lovely voice he had just heard. Her fiery red hair flowed neatly against her shoulders and she'd look even prettier than she had ever looked before. As odd as it sounds, AJ never thought his ex-wife had ever looked this beautiful ever before.

Remaining silent, AJ's mind couldn't digest why she was here. The final words said to him by Christy was 'I never want to see you again' but with her sudden appearance, that must of have changed recently.

"Christy, what – what are you doing here?" Shunned by at it all, AJ Came forward to Christy. His finger dug into his jean pockets, staring senseless into her eyes.

"Not even a Hello or anything – just going straight into business," Christy acknowledged, as she reached into giving a hug to AJ, which kept him guessing even after she had pulled away, "How are you? Still teaching here at West Beverly, I see."

"Uh, yeah," Nervously he said, "But Christy, what are you doing here? I mean, not that I'm not happy to see you but it's just seeing you is a bit surprising since it's been about a year and a half since everything happened."

The divorce had been a bit tough on the fiery redhead but that wouldn't stop her from trying to have a decent relationship with her ex-husband, "I'm just in town for a few weeks, doing a few things before I go back San Francisco and I was thinking since I was around that I would like to see you for a little while – catch up."

"On what? We're divorced and you told me you never wanted to see me again – what's there to catch up on Christy?"

"On some things like how you're doing and a few other things that I'd like to tell you."

Honestly, AJ didn't want any more of this. Christy was in his past for a reason and he planned on letting her remain there. Hooking onto his shoulder bag, slinging it over his shoulder and finding his way to the door, "We've got nothing to talk about, Christy."

Storming out in fury, Christy remained there with a scorn look. He couldn't let the past be the past but she had one extremely important thing to tell him and so far, it isn't looking to good for her. Trying to get to AJ was harder than she thought it would be.

* * *

"I love you."

"I love you more."

Nikki Bella was being placed under some significant torture. The two of them – Maryse and The Miz – could let go of one another. His hands laid wrapped up around her slender waist, as they went on and on.

Maryse had finally found some kind of happiness through everything she has been through. Mike was able to bring her back to the person she used to be prior to the start of this chaotic mess. The past was finally placed in the past and the future had been looking much brighter than it was originally intended to be.

Nikki obviously didn't like all of this, since she was playing the role as the third wheel at the moment. Eventually, she reached her tipping point, "Listen up – if I even here the words I love you one more time, I will reach into my bag, grab my pistol and shoot myself to put myself out of my misery."

"Okay?" Stumbling out the world, Maryse flipped her hair off to the side, "Mike, Me and Nikki are going to go to the peach pit for something to eat so I'll see you after your basketball practice? Come by my house, my mother is cruising the Caribbean so I've got the whole house to myself," She flashed a wink, meaning one thing and one thing only.

"That's an offer I can't turn down," Miz dove in, leaving a sweet kiss against her lips before the two ladies began to leave the basketball player alone.

Once entering the parking lot, Nikki quickly found her car and it wasn't long till the two ladies were out of the parking lot and onto the busy streets of Wilshire Blvd. Nikki despised traffic but it only brought forward the topic of some girl talk, "So based on you and Miz's hands on each other, I believe everything is going extremely well for you and I can only imagine what's going to go down when you get home – perhaps read something about chastity?"

"Oh Nikki – Miz is quiet the hound in that category. But besides the sex, he's such a good guy. If you really get to know him and sit down with him, he's really fun. He's the perfect guy for me to get past my Post-Ted era and now it's time for the Miz and Maryse era!"

"An era is a significant period of time of something special – do you really have that special thing going on with Mike or not?"

"It's going to be – trust me."

"Whatever you say."

Though they are friends, Maryse feels as if Nikki could possibly be a tad bit jealous. Adjusting the bracelet on her wrist, Maryse's eyes quietly traveled around and soon, she'd feel as if she had to get it off her chest, "Are you a little jealous or something?"

_Blasphemy. _Nikki's face froze in that moment shocked to hear the words jealous travel out of Maryse's large mouth, "Me, Jealous? Ha, good one Maryse. I'm not jealous of anything. Do I want my hands constantly tangled up with another guy? No thank you."

"I really don't mean it like that. I mean, like a connection like mine and Mike's. I feel you just want someone to have this special type of relationship with. You can find someone and be happy just like this but it takes some time to find a guy you really click with. There's plenty of single guys in school that would die to have a chance with you."

As much as she hates to admit she's right, she was. Nikki liked to have someone she just could feel the way Maryse and Mike felt for one another. But who would in this city would want something with her? Probably no one.

"Okay, maybe I am a little jealous but who's going to want to go out with me?"

"Tons of guys! Nikki, your one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen and you're destined to find a guy. He'll either come to you or," A grin came across her face, "Or your best friend will help guide him into the right direction? What do you say?"

"Hmm, let me think," Nikki croaked out with sarcasm, "Let's think back to freshmen year when you took me on a blind date – you had Todd at the time and you set me up with his friend, who happened to be my cousin and it was extremely awkward. Thanks by the way, I'll send you a thank you card for that."

"Okay, I messed up once…"

"And there's a time you set me up with a girl who you thought was a guy and well, that didn't really work out to well did it?"

"And maybe I did it twice but that's won't happen," Maryse trailed on, still hoping to get through to Nikki, "I'll set you up with someone really good – I'll think of someone."

As much as she would love that, Nikki was satisfied at the moment that she single and didn't really want to change that until she found someone herself. The idea of anyone finding her someone wasn't ideal and she'd personally like to do this on her own, "Thanks Maryse but I'm fine the way I am right now. I'll find someone in time but for now, I'm happy."

* * *

Room 104; The room which currently hosts meetings for the West Beverly Newspaper, the Paw Print and news show, West Beverly TV.

Evan Bourne, the club coordinator and editor was in charge and currently in the process of presenting a new member, who recently decided to join, "Everyone, Welcome to the first meeting of the West Bev Newspaper and TV and let me start by introducing everyone to our newest student, from Louisiana, Tiffany Terrell," The young blonde greeted everyone, smiling and waving as Evan continued on, "Tiffany was the editor of her newspaper back in Louisiana so let's give her a warm welcome," A few claps radiated through the audience and Evan directed her to sit on the comfy couch beside them, "Now, let's get down to business –"

As Evan would continue on, two of the least involved members sat quietly in the back, staring senselessly into the air. Who are they? Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes.

Ted's hand holding up his head was the only thing really keeping him up and as for Cody, he could only look at Kelly who was standing beside Evan as he continued his lecture. Of course, Cody's heart was aching from not being able to really be with Kelly. Too many roadblocks were in there way and the biggest one was standing before him.

After a little fight, Cody and Kelly hadn't spoken to one another and he wanted to apologize and see how he could settle this whole situation as quickly as possible so no one gets hurt.

Ted looked onto and could see how Cody couldn't keep his eyes off of Kelly. He had known of the situation since somehow and someway, Ted and Cody managed to become friends and Cody told him, since Cody didn't have anyone else to talk too.

"It's really killin' ya man."

Nodding in a lackluster way, Cody turned over and he grew a little upset, "I'm in love with the girl and knowing one of my best friends has her, it kills me. How the hell am I going to figure this whole thing out? Kelly already seems like she knows what she wants to do."

"You don't know that man," Though he was never the type to provide encouragement, what could it hurt to do if he did? "Listen, you should just talk to her and see where the whole thing is going and what exactly is going on. She might be with Evan but maybe she still wants to be with you. Try not to jump to conclusions."

Ted was right. Kelly could very well be on the same page as him but it's going to take some talking to exactly figure out what is going on between the two of them. For all he could know, Kelly wants to be with him but he just hasn't come to the point of really talking to her.

"I was thinking about it. I'll talk to her eventually but I know she is still really upset with me and I think I should give it sometime to cool off and I'll talk to her soon."

"Yeah and just explain to her how you'd like to fix up the entire mess your in."

"Is this the first time you've given advice to someone?" Asked Cody, whose suspicion grew since after all, Ted never seemed like a guy to just – well, give advice.

"Don't ask."

"But what about you? What's this whole thing going on with you and Maryse?"

Maryse. That certainly was a closed chapter, on her part for sure. For Ted, it kills him to know everything he had put her through and not a day goes by where he doesn't think of the mistake he made just a few months ago. If he hadn't done what he did, Maryse and him could very well be together right now. Instead, she's with the Miz and it's completely his fault. He has no one to blame but himself.

"I don't even want to get started on this whole mess. All I've got to say is that I've messed up, really big this time and I don't think I can dig myself out of this hole."

A light slap came over Ted's shoulder and Cody began to laugh, "Wow, we've both got something in common. We've both screwed up somehow!"

But personally, Ted believed he screwed up just a little more.

* * *

If her day could be any busier than it already was, it was only going to get worse. On the stove laid three pots, containing the contents of their family meal for tonight along with a two year old child crying against her ear and to make matters worse, her son was blasting the television speakers like there was no tomorrow.

The only thought that came through Torrie's head was – it feels absolutely wonderful to be a mother.

Ella was crying against her ear and on the other hand was the phone, who Randy was over the other line trying to talk to him about his problems, when she herself was in the midst of dealing with her own severe problems.

"I can't understand how you're home before John. You're both coaches and he has yet to be home while I'm stuck with one crying child in one of my ears and the other one blasting the television so loudly," Taking a loud deep breath, she asked Randy, "Do you mind holding for just one second?" And moments after, "Nathan, if you don't lower that television down, I will be seconds away from send a pot of pasta directly into that screen?"

And no response from young Nathan. Torrie was on the verge of just giving up.

"Well that went well…"

Randy chuckled over the other line and found it amusing how Torrie's threat wasn't successful, "Quiet threatening Tor. As for John, he had to stay late and fix up something for the game we've got up against Venice Beach this weekend but he'll be home any second now."

Lucky for John, he managed to snag a job through West Beverly as the football coach with Randy and some mechanically work in the morning. For John, it was always quite the long day for John as well for Torrie.

"A warning would be nice," Torrie trailed on as she maneuvered some of the dishes, as Ella continued to cry, "Honey, just try and quiet down for mommy because mommy isn't quiet interested at losing her hearing at this age."

"Yeah… I doubt that will work but that's a good try."

"Oh! Oh! I have something to tell you – something pretty huge," News went around the faculty and of course, Torrie heard the news and was quiet thrilled, not just for her sake but for Randy's, "Well, I've heard that apparently a certain secretary was caught snooping somewhere where she shouldn't have and now, she's been paid for it. She's gotten fired and have I mentioned that this person is Dawn."

A little speechless and relieved, he repeated, "Dawn got fired?"

"Yeah, the administration caught her and she got fired! So apparently she's leaving L.A and heading to San Jose with some friends so this is probably and hopefully the final time we'll ever have to see her again! Isn't that great?"

As much as it was wonderful, it was going to do anything with him. Sure, he was happy that finally she'd permanently be out of his life but it wasn't going to bring back the three people he wanted most; Stacy and his children.

He'd do just about anything to get her back but this wasn't going to be the way to get what he wanted.

"Believe me, I'm thrilled. I'm so glad she'll be gone but it isn't solving anything. It isn't exactly going to bring Stacy and the kids back and that's all I really care about."

It bothered her deeply that Stacy wasn't around for him and that Randy was missing out on all of this. Never in her life had she seen Randy like this and she'd wish that the two of them could just work this through and get pass this all.

"I know but we'll find her. We're going to find her and we'll get pass this all. Now, I've got to finish dinner okay so I'll see you tomorrow at work okay? Bye Randy."

Releasing the phone, she focused on what was more important – taking control of her children and trying her best to make a delicious dinner for her family which unfortunately wasn't going well but lucky for her, John just came through the back door, right into the kitchen. He smiled up at his wife only to be greeted with a scowl, "Is it that time of the month?"

"No, it's that time of the day. That time of day where I hold our crying daughter, try to cook a meal for my family and where I yell at your son for not lowering that damn television which unfortunately doesn't happen every day but actually every day for your information," Coming over to him, he expected a kiss but only to receive his daughter in his arms, "Please take her – with her crying in my ear, I think I've forgotten to put salt in the pasta."

John stared senselessly at her running around the kitchen and sarcastically, he said, "So, you must have had an easy day?"

Suddenly, she stood frozen there and offered quiet the disturbing glare, "Not the time for your little jokes. If you mind, you could set the table and try to get your daughter from not crying any further because I think I've lost some hearing in my left ear."

Placing his daughter down in a nearby high chair, she began to quiet down and John went over to Torrie, wrapping his hands around her slender body and kissed down on her neck, "Did I ever mention you looked so amazing when you're tired and trying to cook us dinner?"

"John, if you ever want to have sex again you'll back away from me right now?"

He heard wisely and quietly backed up and began setting the table. Torrie turned over and smirked, "Works like a charm."

* * *

Hand holding her face up and her finger fiddled around with her black pen. Boredom had reached an all new low as Mr. Styles had begin to go over something that provide disinterest, not only to Nikki Bella but the entire class as well. Not a soul was thrilled to be where they were right now.

With the thought of boredom over her mind, she really began to think hard and long. Her thoughts brought the question forward; what exactly interesting was going on in her young life? It's silly of her to think that possibly she had nothing going well for her and Nikki was only an average teenager, living an average life in an average city, when she really wasn't. She lived in Beverly Hills, had a life millions of kids who age would kill for but why exactly was she feeling like this thought she had so much happening, some others wish could have? Could it be that she's just missing something?

The last time she had a relationship… it was a very long time ago, she'd like to say. Three years ago to be exact. It's not that she didn't like guys nor was a lesbian – nothing along the line of that but it's the trust factor. Nikki, as every other girl, believed that trust is very key in having an important relationship and usually it would make and break the relationship. Her trust her men has quickly dissipated and for all she could try and work for, she'd never be able make the relationship work at all.

If Maryse is right – well, Maryse could very well be right much to Nikki's dismay but maybe finding a relationship isn't the solution to the problem. She could very well be happy as she could be but it wouldn't exactly require her venturing into a relationship. Anything could fill the void but love just _might_ be the right thing to fill the void.

Mr. Styles interrupted to the class and had a special announcement, "Now, you'll all probably hate me and begin to tell everyone how much of a loser I am but you'll all have a special project to do and luckily, you'll have a partner so rows one, three and five – look to your left and that's your partner."

Being in row five, Nikki turned to her left to find an empty seat and not a soul in sight. As the class chattered up, talking to their partner and Nikki quickly got Mr. Styles's attention, "I don't anyone sitting next to me so I kinda partner less."

If time could not be any more on her side, Dolph just came into the classroom and caught the teacher's attention, "Glad you may join us Mr. Ziggler. You're just in time and Nikki doesn't have a partner so…"

The smirk rose across his face and Nikki could only respond with a scowl, "Say no more Mr. Styles, I'll be more than happy to be Nikki's partner as much as she'd be more than thrilled to accompany me on this project."

The vilest sigh emitted through her lips – it wasn't a relieving sigh but more of a unsupportive sigh. She could already envision the catastrophe of a project they'd create. Coming forward to her, step by step, he sunk right into the seat beside Nikki, where he'd show his smirk even closer than before.

"So, partners – whose bed… I mean, whose house should we do this project in? I think my parents are gone this weekend so you're more than welcome to come on over and we can really work together on the project."

_What have a done to deserve such a punishment? _Offering a fake smile and chuckle, Nikki had some harsh words for Dolph and his plans, "The library after school sounds much better than your house okay? Actually, I'll give you an even better option, I'll just do the whole thing and I'll put your name on it in the end and we'll call it even – deal?"

"No, No – I'd really like to help. I'm actually quite good at History. Ask me anything and I bet you I can answer it."

"Where's the USS Arizona, the ship that was destroyed during World War II?"

"Easy – it's in Arizona! It can't be anywhere else!"

"And that's when you're wrong Dolph," Nikki cooed away as she felt a bit triumph in her little educational battle, "The USS Arizona was a battleship that sunk on December 7, 1941 when the Japanese attacked in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii but you were close. So I'll take care of the whole project and we'll call it a day okay?"

Nikki turned back from him and stared distantly toward the front. She'd return to the person she had once been, just missing the piece of her mind but still giving a piece of her mind to someone who has no mind whatsoever.

* * *

Tiffany Terrell had surprisingly had quite a wonderful week, if she could say.

From her first day to now finishing up her first week in West Beverly and simply not a flaw in sight for her, it was safe to say that she'd been having a wonderful week. Accompanied by a new set of ladies consisting of Layla, Alicia and Rosa – she'd finally felt like she fit right in with the group. Set in her mind the moment she'd discovered she'd be moving, Tiffany pictured nothing but isolation like you'd see in a television show or movie but luckily, she'd received the opposite attention.

Right after acquiring her lunch, paying the $4.75 she owed the lunch attendant, Tiffany slowly began to make her way through the buzzy Cafeteria and was unfortunate to find not a single table available for her. On the east side of the Cafeteria was the doorway to the front of the school where some tables may be available for the blonde in distress.

Once stepping outside, her eye caught the table that was just empty to her left. As she was coming forward, three bodies stood directly in her way and they each had a name – Alicia, Layla and Rosa.

Tiffany offered a smile, eventually greeting the trio of ladies, "Hey Girls, I thought on Fridays you didn't have lunch with me? What's going on?"

"Oh, we just decided to take a little trip and spend some time with our favorite gal pal, Tiffany," Beamed the British born Layla, in a sweet smile – the very one Tiffany saw on her first day of school, "I was hoping I can talk to you."

"We'd just like to talk to you – have a little girl talk," Added Rosa, with a bit of her fiery flavor.

Tiffany felt a bit suspicious at first, seeing how thrilled Layla seemed to be at first but since she was one of her only friends here, she could only look at it as positive value and put down the negative.

"Girl talk sounds fun."

"Oh it's going to be a blast!" Little did Tiffany know that Layla had something hidden behind her back, as she continued to play on her current role as Tiffany's friend, "So on Monday, when you were staring at the lunch line – who were you staring at?"

She felt a little bashful but it's completely natural for her to feel this way, "I was looking at this guy who was getting some lunch and he looked really cute and all –"

Tiffany's harsh words were enough to push her off the limit and take her down a pathway she'd regret, "Now listen Tiffany!" Suddenly, the sweet voice had disappeared and was exchanged for a much louder one, along with a scowl amongst her face, "You think you can come in here, feeling like your miss queen of anything and start to set your sights on my man – who the hell do you think you are Tiffany?"

Taken back by the accusation, she felt hurt. Not only was she accusing her of doing something she never did but she actually felt as if she found herself on the bad end of some sort of miscommunication. Shuddering back, Tiffany spoke out in her defense, "I never looked your boyfriend or whoever he was. Frankly, I don't know how he looks like."

"Oh stop putting up this sweet act, you little tramp!"

Now this time around, Layla was loud enough and just about everyone had turned around and began to stare at the fight that was ultimately going to break out any second now. A few jumped in excitement as they loved when drama broke out and while some others began to fear for young Tiffany.

Alicia was not fond of Tiffany's lies, "And she continues to lie – even right in our faces. You better not even look at Kofi for a second or I'll take your pretty little eyes out of your sockets!"

Alicia began to show a much more bitter and threatening side to her that she normally doesn't do and again, Tiffany wanted to defend herself because if there's one thing she learned, she learned to be defensive and try to stand up tall.

"Seriously, I don't know what the hell your talking about. I was looking, not at MVP but some other guy…"

"And what's his name?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Liar." Rosa said coldly.

Layla had reached the final tipping point of this all. Her eyes traveled down to Tiffany's lunch tray and she took smacked the tray right into Tiffany's face. The contents of the tray mixed into her face and into the roots of her hair. Some of it even managed to get onto her clothing. At this point, Tiffany had just felt horrible. But Layla unfortunately wasn't done. In Layla's hand, she held a smoothie she had purchased before this and tossed it right into Tiffany's face and eventually, Layla pushed Tiffany down onto the floor. Tiffany was a complete mess now.

The girls, along with several others around them, fell into fits of laughter. Layla stood proud of what she had caused but not a bone in her body felt bad about what she did at all. To add to the physical abuse, Layla continued on with some verbal abuse, "You little skank – your time here in West Beverly is going to make you wish you never moved from your little freak town you came from because honey, you look exactly like the product of two cousins having a baby. You look like a freak."

"So much for the whole Southern Belle," Alicia mocked on, only to come up with something she believed was a bit cleverer, "Or should I say, Southern whore?" Said Alicia, in a deep and fake southern accent.

Feeling more than ashamed at this point, Tiffany pushed off the mess she had on her face. Tears erupted from her eyes and she quickly made her way up to her feet. The laughing continued and Layla wanted to leave one more mark, "See you later, slut!"

As the droplets came down her face, she pushed through the trio of girls and just continued to run and run. She didn't want her time her at this new school to be like this – none of this was supposed to happy but it did and now she'd be stuck in the center of bullying for an unknown period of time. Life at West Beverly has just gotten much harder.

* * *

She never really had much of a passion or feel for the sport. Personally, she believed any sport involving throwing a ball and getting extremely sweaty was rather unpleasant but she was willing to make a sacrifice so she would be able to watch Mike – or the Miz – have another round of practice.

As much as she loved watching this all, she quickly left the bleachers in the rush of trying to locate a bathroom as she was in the midst of almost wetting herself. Once behind the bleachers, finding the locker room where the bathrooms were located, her heart sunk and eventually began to burn up with pain as she watch Eve Torres making her way toward her. As much as she hated the woman, she refused to make contact with her but saw this as a chance to make her more humiliated than she already was.

"Well, if it isn't the star of our school – now, which adult Entertainment Company signed you because honestly, that picture of you showed the wonderful talent you posess?"

"You sent it, didn't you?"

"Oh, Maybe," Said Maryse, in a suspicious tone.

Turning her body around, she could feel all the pain of the humiliation coming back to her and now, the devil in human form was standing right before her, "I'm not here to listen to the crap you have to tell me okay? You ask to stay out of your life, which I'm doing, but you creep it and eventually complain I'm always bothering you – when I'm not."

"I just can't help it," The smirk just angered Eve more than she already was, "A back stabbing friend deserves the ultimate punishment possible and I'm going to make sure you suffer for everything you did to me and I'll start my peeling apart your reputation."

"For something I didn't do?"

"You mean for something you did – you know you wanted to throw yourself at him and ruin the most amazing relationship I've ever had with a guy but you, you wanted to take it all away and now, I'm going to take away something from you and make you feel the pain I've been feeling for the past three months!"

Just then, Ted had been turning the corner dressed in his football uniform and could see that something was going on. Walking over he decided to see what was going on here, "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh speak of the devil – your boyfriend's here Eve!"

Eve just wanted some revenge and just to make Maryse feel horrible for how she was making her feel so why not fuel the fire – the fire being on Maryse's part? "Honestly Maryse, I'm sick of you telling me stuff I already know. You want to know something? Even when you were still trying to get with Ted, he asked me out on a date and I wanted to say yes so so bad! And when he kissed me, I loved every second of it! If you hadn't come in, I was going to just take him right onto the bed, you and him just slept on, and have my turn with him. Sorry, I just had to let all of that out. Oh and Ted even called me this Summer, asking how I was – did he even bother to call you?"

Taking in all the words, Maryse felt her heart sink even more in her chest now knowing the truth. Her eyes blankly stared off at Ted, who remained there with his head pointed to the ground. She wanted an answer from him, now.

"Did you really ask her out? Tell me the truth, last time I said I deserved it so let me hear it," Without even saying it, he simply nodded his answer and Maryse let out a gasp of air and you could sense the sadness in her tone, "You're nothing but a lying bastard. You're both liars and just the worst people to ever walk this earth."

"And we certainly learned from the best," Eve insinuated that Maryse was responsible for everything that had happened, "I mean, you're just as bad as us. I mean, you sent the text out which you made pretty clear and all the clues point to you so I figured if you told me the truth about something, maybe I should do the same for you?"

"Both of you, Go to hell."

Maryse no longer wanted to hear anything else from either one of them. Her heart has been on a rollercoaster and finally, it seemed to have been coming to an end now that she knows the truth. Turning her back on the two of them, she quickly squirmed away not wanting to face any of the pain.

Eve on the other hand, stood forward more victorious. She's been picked apart one by one and it was wonderful to see that the tables have turned onto Maryse this time. Eve began to walk away and took one more look at Ted, finally releasing a smile – she had a reason to smile for once. Her body was ridden on lies and secrets and she was beginning to feel like her old self again.

Ted remained alone as his situation only gotten worse. Though he was in love with Maryse, something sparked in Eve that he liked and definitely wanted to explore that realm.

* * *

**A/N: **Another Chapter completed.  
Please leave a lovely Review - thank you :)

_Next Chapter, Eve and Ted grow closer, Kelly makes a decision and Tiffany meets Jack._

P.S - I've decided i wanted to try something different. Running low on some ideas so i've decided i'm going to try and do some one-shots, with pairings of your choice :) So in reviews/PM's, leave a pairing and any idea you have and i'll turn it into a one-shot. Any couple is allowed - even if i hate a character :) Only WWE though.


	28. Press Play

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty Eight _- Press Play

A new leaf has turned – well in Eve Torres' case.

With the whole exposure with the text message over with and students finally adjusting to the routine of waking up every morning for school, life was getting back to normal – with only a few little mishaps that wouldn't be too distracting. With each step, she grew more confident to face the everyday conflict of dealing with the humiliation and gossip. If anything, this whole ordeal has only made her feel more confident and stronger. Perhaps it was a test?

Well, test passed – in fact, test aced. Moving slowly through the hallway, her floral sweater dress moved in with her motion while the curls that rested against her shoulders playfully rose into the air. Her steps got slower and slower until her eye caught something against the bulletin board. Taking a few steps back, the bulletin board was the location of several events that were going on at school during the year. Looking before the board, the events included cheerleading tryouts, football tryouts, homecoming tickets and there was a particular one that really seemed to catch her attention. It just jumped right out at her.

_West Beverly Productions Present:  
Spring Awakening  
Auditions begin the Week of September 21__st__  
See AJ Lee or Mrs. Guerrero for details._

That's when an idea just light right up in her mind. Eve always had a part of her that loved entertainment including theater. This could very well be the thing she needed to get her mind off of the chaos that erupts in this school and maybe focus on something a little more different. Her senior year was surely going to be difficult but being part of the play could make the year much more enjoyable.

The appearance of a dark shadow overcame her body and could be seen against the wall before her. Twisting her body around, she was greeted by a soft smile and light colored eyes that immediately traced back to hers. Sweetly, she'd shape her lips into a smirk and Ted's smile would only grow along with it.

"I didn't know you were an aspiring actress Eve? You didn't really hit me as a chick that likes to act a lot –"

"And that's where you're wrong Mr. DiBiase – there's a lot that the eye doesn't see and this isn't one of them. I've just decided to join the play so I could maybe get my mind off of a few things."

Emitted in his breath, Ted cackled at the latina, "You'd be surprise yourself because I'm joining too and not because I need to get my mind off of a few things – I'm being forced by Guerrero. Don't join, won't pass her class so I was basically walking over with the gun pointed to my head. I don't think I'm really some theater guru if you ask me."

"You're balancing both football and the play?"

"In a sense yes but I won't have an acting roll. I'm signing up for some set design because Ted DiBiase is not an actor – never was and never will be."

In response to his answer, she'd laugh rather sweetly causing Ted to get a little pink in the cheeks, "So you wouldn't even consider maybe joining the play as an actor? I think you may be like that guy who surprises the heck out of the school with his amazing talent."

"The only talent I have is sitting before my television and having the power to move my fingers in order to change the channel on the remote. That's my talent."

His humor, well it humored here, "That sounds like actor material if you ask me."

"At least we'll get to spend some time together during this – I think that's the only real thing that's keeping me exciting for all of this so promise me you won't suddenly just drop out of the play and leave me to deal with Guerrero. You're basically signing away my life away and I seriously don't need that."

This different side of Ted was something she liked. The Ted she met months ago was certainly nothing along the lines of the one standing before her. Could he have suddenly had this change in personality in the past few months? Ted DiBiase was just a mystery beginning to unfold and Eve would eventually reach the core of the problem in time. There's something behind this mask he holds before his face and she wanted to uncover it.

"Of course I'll stay – but let's not second guess ourselves. I may not even get the part."

"Trust me… I'll make sure of it."

* * *

For the first time since she first came here, Tiffany was alone.

After becoming a victim of bullying, Tiffany found herself sitting outside at a table trying to enjoy her lunch. Being victimized by the trio of Alicia, Rosa and Layla – her time in West Beverly would drastically change. Finally, she thought she fit in right with a set a girls but some things maybe to go to be true. That applies to this situation.

Playfully with her fork, she'd maneuver around her green salad with tomatos, onions, olives and cucumbers – do just about anything to keep her mind off of things. Quiet the large shadow appeared and Tiffany would be stupid if she didn't notice it. Delicately, her eyes rose forward to spot the tall muscular man with sun kiss skin and sweet blonde hair, blowing up into the wind with the wind. The frame of his lips formed into a smile while standing before her with his tray of greasy French fries and cheeseburger.

"Is this seat taken?" He kindly asked Tiffany, who could only nod in agreement. As she nodded, he carefully placed his tray down and looked over at Tiffany's food which looked untouched, "Have you even token a bite of that salad yet? It looks untouched."

Silence continued to emerge from the southern Belle. Nothing was really working to get the female to actually say a word so it was best that he take the first steps and he begins to speak to her, "The name is Jack Swagger by the way – I hope you've got a name that doesn't involve silence or anything."

Refocusing her attention toward him, her memory flashed backed to her first day of classes and her first class where she had first seen him. It appeared that may have been the last time she'd see him as she transferred out, taking a later class. All she wanted was to avoid all three girls and she'd miss out on seeing him again. Following his introduction, she finally managed to crack open a smile – which had been extremely difficult as of lately – and offer a few words in response to his, "I'm Tiffany, Tiffany Terrell."

"Ah, the silent one speaks and has a name – interesting…"

Softly giggling to herself, she began to apologize, "I've just been a little moody that's all. I don't really want to go into detail but I hope you understand. It's nice to meet you by the way," On another note, something kept bothering her about the name Swagger – sounded a little to familiar, "Swagger? I feel like I know that name from somewhere but – no, it can't be."

Without even having to ask a single question, he knew where this would all lead too, "If you think I can't be Carl Swagger's son, than your wrong – I actually am two time Academy Award winner's son who yes, goes to West Beverly because I didn't want to go to some lame private school in Bel Air. I'm Beverly Hills material and nothing else."

"I'm in the presence of fame and fortune now… My friends back in Louisiana will die when they hear that I'm going to school with a famous actor's son."

She had to admit – she was feeling a little starstruck because of his father's fame.

The attention was something he really liked but he didn't want to get that to get in the way of just being friendly, "That's usually what everyone says once they meet me but please, I'm just as normal as anyone else. I just got a Dad's who into film and all. Not much of a big deal."

"My Mom's into the whole film industry. She's got a job as one of set designers over in one of the studios somewhere in Hollywood. I still remember going to some of her studios back in New Orleans to see what all the fuss was about. Do you go a lot?"

"Well no," Quickly retracting his answered, he changed his answer, "Actually, yeah – I did go a lot, especially when I was a kid. He took me with him when he went to Dubai, Tokyo, Auckland, New York and just about a few places in every continent, so to answer your question I did. He's apparently hitting up the French Riviera in a few weeks to shoot the sequel to 'Maxed out' but I'm stuck here, so I won't be going."

"Sorry to be blabbing away," Her fork was being used more as a toy than anything – not a piece of food had been moving into her mouth, "I must be annoying you with my little questions about everything. Please, just eat and pretend I'm not even here."

His hand moved over his French fries as slowly, he'd digest them down one by one. After about the second one, he couldn't help but look up at Tiffany and smirk, "I can eat and talk. I'm a multitasker plus I've got no one here for company so maybe you could provide me with some company and I'll do the same in response."

The feeling had returned, just this one was a much stronger one than the previous one – something different about this one. She'd felt like she's found a friend but her feelings which much more different than the others, "I'd love the company."

* * *

Something was on Maryse's mind – but it was rather odd that she'd be thinking of something like this. Normally, her brain wouldn't succumb to this idea but something was telling her 'Just do it' and it wasn't Nikki or Kelly telling her that, who were standing right beside her.

"Should I stay nearby for college or should I leave L.A? New York isn't looking like a bad place for me," College was certainly on the minds of every senior student in West Beverly, but Kelly was thinking too much about it, "Columbia is looking really good – maybe NYU as well."

"I'm staying nearby – I just got back to Cali and I really don't want to leave just yet so CSU is looking pretty nice for me," Nikki combatted back and looking over to Maryse, she watched the blonde remain in a rather compromising look – a mixture between constipation and thinking really hard, "What's on your mind Maryse? Looks like you're thinking about something really important."

To reveal or not to reveal – what could it hurt? Placing down her textbook, Maryse stood confidently in her back boots and faced her two friends, "I kind of have an idea about something I'd like to do but I'm not quite sure how you ladies are really going to take this?"

"If this is about getting a boob job – the answer is no – your breasts looking stunning and I don't want you to go for double d's! Have you seen Heidi Montag's mess of a chest? Apparently she's aiming to get H's for Heidi – she's going to have a heck of back problems with that," Kelly rattled on, thinking this could be the idea and surely wouldn't be too surprised if it was.

"You want a boob job?" Nikki's eyes went straight for Maryse's cleavage, which was currently opened up with her top, "Don't you already have D's or is that the new push up bra because your rack is looking fabulous right about now!"

"NO! it doesn't have anything to do with that so drop the whole question but good to know your supportive of my decision," Clearing up the discussion, She stated the fiction from it all and went on to talk about the fact of the discussion, "So we all want to get into good schools and we really don't have much critically activities to put on our college applications so we should all join something."

"Not the Spanish American club like freshmen year – remember we went in like lost souls not knowing a word of Spanish so take out any language related clubs unless if it's English," Continuing to scribble down on her paper, Kelly answered to Maryse's suggestion.

"Do you have anything in mind Maryse?"

Maryse looked over at both ladies as her smile grew larger. She had to prepare herself for some critical feedback, "Well, I really thought that maybe we could offer something to the cheerleading squad and become cheerleaders?"

Nikki and Kelly briefly stared but would soon grow concerned for the young French woman – Kelly first step forward, "Maryse, did you eat something bad this morning because you're really talking crazy."

"Or maybe she is hallucinating or something –"

"Guys, I'm not hallucinating!" Firing back to the claims of food poisoning and delusion, defended herself would be the only way to solve this all, "I'm serious – I really want to join the squad. I think I got what it takes."

Nikki tussled her over her shoulder and calmly asked, "When the hell did this all come about?"

"Well, I was actually watching some old cheerleader movie and I kind of liked the whole thing – I thought it could be fun to do and I really want something to put nice on my CSU application instead of our failed attempt to join the Spanish American club – funny how we just went to the meeting to get the nachos and tacos they had."

"I still remember those tacos," Kelly reminded herself of the day, "And poor Tamina, she had a lot of tacos and ended up stinking up the girls bathroom and it reeked for weeks but Maryse," Here came the bearer of bad news, "I've got a lot on my plate right now and Evan wants me in the West Beverly Paw Print and Channel – I've got my hands full so sorry – I've actually got to go see him so I'll see you guys later."

Once Kelly had disappeared, Nikki was all alone in the battle of deciding what she wanted at this point. Maryse sweetly smiled down at Nikki, getting ready to beg but Nikki was one step ahead of her, "Maryse –" But too little too late, Maryse interrupts Nikki from saying anything else.

"Nikki! You have to join, it will be so much fun and plus we get to hang around with the football team and everything – this could help us get into CSU! Please, please!"

Maryse's hands came together and the begging had begun. Being the dramatic person she is, Maryse would take it to the extent where there was no answer except yes so better save her the embarrassment and give her what she wants.

"Fine..." Nikki said, in the most absolute unexcited tone possible.

"I love you!" And after the sweet remark, Maryse jumped right up and wrapped her arms around Nikki's body, applying pressure midst holding her tightly, "You're not going to regret this one bit and we're going to have a complete blast."

"Okay…if you don't let go of me, I think I'm going to pass out…"

"Oh sorry," Maryse apologized kindly, "But thanks though – thanks for coming onboard with the idea."

Speaking of cheerleading, three members of the squad and another girl came walking right by. The three members happen to be the best out of the squad, dressed in their blue and white cheerleading outfits. Layla El being the captain and Rosa and Alicia; two members of the squad and Layla's secondhand assistants.

"If I'm correct, I believe I just overhead you ladies speaking about joining the cheer squad. The captain would be thrilled to have you," If breast implants were fake, Layla was much more fake than those, "Oh wait, I think the captain is me, right? Oh that's right so don't waste your time – I think I'll make this decision much easier."

"There's only three spots available and one's already taken by her," Alicia pulled forward the raven haired woman. Her dark hair scaled down her body and her eyes were fierce – this girl looked just like another Alicia, Layla or Rosa, "Ladies, meet the newest student at West Beverly and newest cheerleader, Maxine Perez – Maxine, meet dumb and dumber."

Laughing vaguely, Maryse's eyes would eventually turn into a glare directly at Layla, "Another bimbo for the bimbos of Beverly? You're going to make a wonderful addition to the crowd Maxine."

"Well see who's laughing when I reject you two from our team…"

"Actually," The voice had appeared from nowhere but soon the body would be revealed and it took in the shape of blonde hair and went by the name of Torrie Wilson Cena, "Layla, I've been meaning to speak to you about something and I've finally found you."

"What seems to be the problem Mrs. Cena?"

After Layla's question, Torrie came forward with her own little revelation to the girls, "I was speaking to Principal McMahon and she really believes in the cheer squad that she'd believe the team needed a good coach and she asked me if I was up for the position since after all I was a West Beverly cheerleader myself and I accepted – so I'll be your new coach just in time for tryouts. Isn't this great?"

The sour look didn't reflect well on either Layla, Alicia, Rosa nor the newest recruit, Maxine but was more positive for Nikki and Maryse who know stood a chance, "You can't do that –"

"I think I just did."

Finally feeling some sort of chance of getting into the squad, it only let Maryse come forward to say a few little words she's been dying to say, "I've always wanted to says this so here it goes – Bring it on!"

* * *

"Ha! Ziggler, you owe me about Fifty dollars my man – would you still like to take me on, the expert and greatest player that game of pool has ever seen?"

Ted was in the middle of gloating on his power to destroy Dolph Ziggler to five straight games of pool. Sure, he liked it since he was making a profit. Dolph on the other hand was just reeling in his own misery about being defeated by Ted five times in a row and losing fifty dollars in the process. Lucky wasn't much on Dolph's side nor was talent. Evan, Cody and the newest guy to hang around with the guys, Jack Swagger watched on with a distance.

With his free hand, Dolph pushed back his hair and began to think and he didn't want to be seen as a loser so of course, he would play until he beats Ted, "Listen, one more game – I can feel that I am going to win this one. I'll bet another fifty dollars and winner gets to have the loser be his bitch for the day on Monday – deal Ted?" Ted stood there, thinking of the possibilities of it all, "Oh, scared Ted?"

"Not really – I just got an idea on how you can dress on Monday when you play the role of my bitch for the day – I'm thinking a nice dress with flowers but yes, It's a Deal Ziggler."

"Seriously guys! It's been two hours and I think I speak for the rest of the guys when I say please hurry the hell up! I got the pool table for the Media club members and Dolph, you aren't even a member and your hear – how the hell does that make any sense?" Evan scowled away, pushing the guys to complete their game, "Can you just make it three balls so Cody, Jack and I can make one game at least?"

"I'll do it – it will just make this game much shorter," Ted glowed at the idea as he began to separate the stripes and solids and placed them into the rack, beginning the game, "In the meantime, Cody can look for a nice pick dress I could get Dolph to wear on Monday? I'm thinkin slutty but still a little classy."

As the game carried on, Jack had an interesting question to ask Ted as something was brought up to his attention, "So Ted, someone was telling me that your trading in the football for the Play's script? Is this true or not?"

"Whoa Whoa Whoa!" A bit shocked, Cody stepped in for some answers himself, "Ted, your quitting the team and joining the school's rendition of Spring Awakening? What the – are you smoking something again?"

"Calm down."

"Looks like someone else is going to need that dress," Dolph sneered in the corner just as he made a shot and nothing exactly happened.

"Truth is, Mrs. Guerrero is making me join the show doing some set design or something. No acting for me – I'll leave it to the professionals."

Cody stood up from his seat and Ted was lucky to just make one of his balls in, one step closer to winning the game. It was then when Cody wanted to be a little more dramatic than anything, "So you're not going to be an actor?"

"Nope."

"And I thought I could be Juliet and I'd be able to say," Cody put his hands against his cheek in a fist shape and sweetly mellowed out, "Romeo! Oh, Romeo! Where art thou Romeo?"

As the guys fluttered into laughter, Ted's hand traveled over Cody's neck and soon with his fingers, he'd apply pressure down on two specifics parts of Cody's neck creating a streak of pain around his body and it eventually sent Cody to the ground, flaunting in pain. As Cody rose, Ted eventually shot in his second ball and was yet again another step closer to winning and Dolph wasn't exactly going anywhere with his, "I think hurting Cody is my good luck charm. Maybe I could try that again and see if I can win?"

"Get the hell away from me!"

Returning to a nearby chair, Evan released a loud groan, "Come on Dolph – you haven't shot a single ball into a pocket. Stop taking your sweet time and actually make something out of yourself."

"Evan, this game takes time and strategy – Dolph needs to think and focus. Listen here Dolph," Jack advised him since he wanted this game to be completed as quickly as possible, "Think of something good like winning the bet or some chick – anything to keep you focus so you could actually win."

Taking Jack's advice to heart, he really didn't think about winning the game. He thought about winning a girl of his dreams – that seemed to be a lot more appealing to him. Immediately an image of Nikki Bella came rushing through his mind. Her smile, her eyes, her hair; just about everything about her was completely stunning and not a flaw insight. If only she really felt the same way but somewhere under it all, he knew that she felt something as well.

Jack stared oddly at Dolph and he remembered seeing that facial expression a lot over the summer and it happened to be constantly directed toward Nikki Bella, "I know who he's thinking about – he's thinking about Nikki Bella and the fact that he can't get with her."

"You got the hots for Nikki?" The question was directed from Evan, "Does she like you too?"

"Not really," Jack added in response to Evan's answer, "He keeps trying but she keeps pushing him away. He doesn't get it," Jack's voice would get much louder and deeper as he said the next few words, "Nikki Bella does not want you Dolph Ziggler. Get it through your skull."

His focus was taken off the game and turned over to Jack and Evan, who stood their mercilessly as Dolph was about to rant, "Listen, she likes me. I know she likes me. She is just having some trouble trying to tell me. The entire summer she kept giving me all of these mixed signals and I know how she feels. She's a complicated chick but she wants me and I want her and trust me, it's going to happen. You'll see!"

Both taken a bit back from his rant, Dolph looked on the pool table and noticed his balls were the only ones that remained, "What the hell?"

Ted smirked and looked up at Dolph, "Oh yeah, I won when you were talking so I'll see you on Monday in a pretty dress and my now hundred dollars you owe me. Don't be late on Monday!"

And Dolph stood there, feeling like a complete loser but knowing he has a much better prize to win – Nikki Bella.

* * *

AJ Styles had just reached his front door and once the door was open, he didn't want to reappear until Monday when he really had to return to school and lecture students on the constitution of the United States. But now, it was Friday night and it meant time to relax and laid back.

He took his cellphone and turned it off. No emails or phone calls. He wanted nothing of that until Monday morning at about 7:00am when he has to return to work. His thoughts rambled on while he laid on his couch.

_Complete weekend to myself – what to do? Biking over along Malibu? Sounds like an idea for me but if only I have a bike with wheels. I need to get out of this house more often. I'll go surfing – Huntington is looking pretty nice these days, yeah – beach it is._

His telephone began to rang, not his cell but his house. _Why didn't I disconnect it? Let the machine get it. _It would continue to ring on and on until the answering machine would pick up from there and take care of the rest of it.

A sweet and innocent voice came through the speaker of the answering Machine – it was Christy, "I hope this is still your number but here goes nothing. It's Christy, AJ. I was just calling you to tell you that I'm leaving next week and I'd really like to get together with you to have some dinner with you. I know how past wasn't the brightest one but I really need to talk to you. It's extremely important so would you please give me a call back - I don't have the number here on me but it's from the Beverly Wilshire. Hope to hear from you."

Listening to the message carefully, AJ thought in his mind of what exactly was going on with Christy. This sudden appearance and wanting to speak with him was beginning to get him extremely suspicious and he wondered if she had some sort of reasoning for this all.

It all had to wait – he needed to think for a little while.

* * *

Saturday – it only meant one thing and one thing only; sleep in for the entire day. Though it was confusing to understand what exactly she was doing up at three in the morning. Tossing and turning didn't help her get back to sleep any sooner; it only created my agitation and frustration if anything.

Her mind was racing, even this late at night. It was common for Kelly to think about her life in general at night. It was the perfect time and what could be a better time than now when she couldn't even get to sleep? If there happened to me a problem she was currently enduring at the moment it was between two guys – Cody and Evan. Her situation was such a complicated one than anything.

Evan was such an amazing guy. Kelly and himself had such the history and have been through so much but still manage to get through it all. In all reality, they were completely perfect for one another and their whole story was someone everyone wanted. The boy who's had the crush but the girl was to clueless to notice – it was just like a movie. Their story was certainly important but how much he meant to her was something that also ate her inside. Leaving Evan would be heartbreaking for both, especially since she had really gotten a chance to discover more about the man she loves.

And then she has Cody, the one who'd never expect to reveal some type of feelings for her and watching what they have blossom into something she'd never expect to happen. The summer was certainly a time she'd found herself and what she may have wanted all along and that was in Cody Rhodes. The summer opened her heart to so much more and the possibility of developing strong feelings for such a guy. Hurting him, just the idea of it, deeply upset her.

When would all of this end? Who knows. Who'd be hurt after this whole thing? That's what she didn't want.

For the first Friday night, she didn't spend it at Torrie's but was finally home with her Dad and stepmom, taking over the room next to Torrie's old room – Kelly stared at the window and could see minor pellets being tossed at her balcony doors. The noise grew bothersome and once she reached for the balcony doors, the noise disappeared and not a sight was seen outside. Kelly's eyes traveled around her backyard to find nothing. At her feet laid a CD with 'play me' written on the post it.

Taking the CD in her hands, Kelly opened up her computer and slid in the CD. The player would pop up with the face of a familiar face.

"_Listen, I know you're still kind of upset with me about this whole situation we are in but I needed to talk to you somehow. This video may be the only way that I could get you to talk to me so I hope you don't press the stop button now and toss this away. Just please watch it. First, I'm sorry about everything. I should have never said anything like that to you. You're in the worst position possible and I wasn't being supportive as I should have been. You have to make a decision and no matter what you decide, I'm going to be supportive. This isn't about what I want any more or anything for that matter. Your happiness is what is more important to me than anything and I'm just letting you know that with whatever you decide, I'll be there for you no matter what because your still one of my best friends and nothing is going to change that."_

The video came to a sudden stop and Kelly's decision could have either gotten easier or harder? Who exactly knows? The time has come for a big decision to make.

* * *

Her nerves were getting to her. Standing beside Nikki, Maryse personally felt like she did a horrible job by the side lines of the football field at West Beverly. It appears that this gymnastics class she took wasn't exactly paying off very well for her. It was only Nikki, Jamie Keyes, Kaitlyn and AJ Lee standing before her. The other girls did exceptionally well and Maryse well – she missed a flip, a toss and was a little out of place. Basically, she did bad and she knew and so did everyone else – just the look on Layla's face told her everything.

The new cheerleading coach came forward with a checklist in her hand and stared down at all of the girls, "Okay ladies – you all did great and you were all extremely impressive. Now we all know that there is only a few spots left on the squad and not everyone can get in, with Maxine also taking a spot as well so this was a really hard decision.

Torrie looked over at Maryse, who she could just tell was nervous. Maryse was taking this as a sign that Maryse didn't do well and of course, Maryse's mind raced. _She keeps staring at me – I probably did horrible and I'm going to hear the lines "you did a wonderful job but we're going to have to let me go blah blah blah" and all of that – she's basically telling me that I suck but in a nicer way._

"So I've made the decision and I've decided that I'd love all of you to join the team."

_And she's going to be like "Maryse, you did good just not good enough….wait, did she – no she didn't? What is going on?_

"Ladies, put away the shocked expressions because all of you have made the team. Congratulations!" An out roar of screams outburst between the girls while the rest of the cheerleader's faces screamed the exact opposite – they seemed much more furious than ever as Torrie continued on, "I'll see all of you ladies on Monday for practice!"

The field slowly began to clear up of the cheerleaders and Maryse and Nikki had a quick little celebration, "We did it! Oh my god, we actually did it! I've got to find Mike and tell him. I'll call you later!"

As Maryse disappeared into the distance, Nikki was left alone to celebrate. Not much to celebrate about being as she never really wanted to join but the thought of it may actually be fun for a change. Caring her blue and white pons pons, she'd carefully walk along the field but she'd bump directly into a football player – one that had platinum colored hair and there was only one guy in the world she knew that had hair like that – Dolph Ziggler.

"Oh god it's you," Could you tell that she was extremely excited to see him?

"Pon pons? West Beverly gym uniform? Did you try out for the cheerleading squad?" Noticing her appearance and contents in her hand, one could only assume.

He'd only eventually find out one day so the truth will come out, "Yes, I tried out for the squad and I got in. I'll be cheering the teams on come game day."

"I know why you did this all – I know you've got a motive behind this."

"A motive? Could you be a little clearer?"

Dolph's arms crossed together as his posed turned into a more confident one. His smirk, one Nikki has seen much too often, already told her that whatever he was going to say was not going to be good, "The cheer squad and the football team usual are together a lot, since we travel to different schools and all so you joined this way you could spend more time with me – isn't that right?"

_He's dumber than I thought. _She grinned and just thought to herself, how silly this guy was, "Dolph, first of all – no I didn't do this to get to spend more time with you and second of all – what in your right mind thinks that I would want to spend more time with you? The forty five minutes we spend together in history makes me want to kill myself as it is."

He didn't believe it. Not one bit and he wasn't going to let her finish him off like that, "Nikki, we're friends –"

"We're not friends."

"Your right," He stepped a little more forward, coming inches within of Nikki, "I think – actually, we both know that we're more than just friends, am I right?"

Nikki licked her lips, tasting the sweet cherry lip gloss she applied earlier, "Dolph, did Mrs. Ziggler drop you as a baby? Because you've seriously got it all wrong – if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than to stare at you."

Pushing his body off to the side, Nikki forcefully walked away from him and continued down the field. The only thought racing in her mind was whether she should run fearing if he would chase after her continuing his harassment?

* * *

Could life get any better right now? Nope, it couldn't.

A south belle remained starstrucked as she just witnessed Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp walk right past her while taking a visit onto studio, which her mother was currently working at. She might have to get used to it since after all she leaves in Beverly Hills and could see another celebrity practically walk by her house.

Heading over to the catering table, Tiffany spotted a rather appealing muffin that was certainly calling her name containing blueberries and some bright white frosting. Her hand reached in for it only to collide with another hand that was also embarking on the same mission Tiffany was in the middle of. Her eyes crawled up the arm and quickly a face was placed to the body causing Tiffany to smile in the process.

"Oh, Jack –"

It wasn't surprising to see him here. Since his father is an actor, she could only assume that he was with him but she didn't mind.

He grinned and found it a little amusing on how the two were both going to reach for the same thing, "Tiffany, Hey – looks like we're both trying to grab a piece of that muffin."

"Go ahead – you should have it."

"No, you take it. I scarfed down an entire four slices of pizza and I think if I eat that last muffin, I may just suffer an unexpected heart attack."

His humor appealed to her and to solve their ongoing issue, Tiffany grabbed a knife and divided the muffin in two and took one, handing it to Jack, "Here – you take this half and I'll take the other. I don't think you'll be suffering a heart attack – you're in great shape and you're on the football team. You've got nothing to worry about."

"My Dad pressures me to keep hitting the gym since football players need to have a lot of muscle and strength."

"Don't listen to him," Her voice flooded out, "You're a great football player – though I haven't seen you play or anything but you must be amazing. I'd love to come to a game one time. When does West Beverly play their first game?"

"End of September – we're playing South Pasadena. You should come to the game. West Bev is going to need all the support it needs."

"I'll definitely be there."

This sudden feeling erupted inside the young girl's body – particularly centered near her heart. She's only had this once or twice to ever happen to her but she definitely knew what this all meant. Her cheeks slowly began to blush as well and Jack took notice, "You're awfully red? Something wrong?"

"Uh – no, I'm just going to use the restroom so I'll be right back."

Quickly fleeing away from the seen, she didn't want to bear with the embarrassment. Jack watched as she timidly walked away from her. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone as he wrote a message to another person. _She's falling right into it all._

And in the responding message, the individual wrote back. _Perfect. _

* * *

Saturdays use to be completely different for Eve. Months ago, she'd be with a large group of friends hanging out at the beach or shopping down rodeo or grabbing a bite to eat. That was no more and her present day was much emptier, even being surrounded by tons of people at the Beverly Hills Beach Club, which officially opened its doors just a few days ago and people flocked, including fellow students at West Beverly.

Sitting along the outside lounge, Eve had her iPod resting on her lap playing some Taylor Swift and the newest novel she picked up at the library. If only her parents saw her, she'd think they'd feel proud of the young Latina. The book was boring but she felt she had to do it seeing there was nothing else to do.

Staring at the words, her eyes would doze off into space. Why was she doing this to herself? She should be enjoying her senior year but with who? Everyone hates her.

Except for one person – Ted DiBiase, who had just walked out into the lounge saw the young Latina and walked over to her. He grinned and spoke, "Eve Torres – is that Eve Torres sitting her at the beach club reading a book on a Saturday afternoon? Has the world began on the pathway to going to hell?"

A sense of relief came over her when spotting the young teenager standing right before her who was accompanied by his surfboard and wetsuit, "Thank god, someone has shown up. I swear, I'm actually bored on a Saturday. Like everyone is having the time of their lives and I'm stuck here on a Saturday, reading a book which frankly is putting me to sleep."

"You've seriously got nobody here?"

"Seeing how everyone at West Bev hates me, I don't think I have many friends. I think you might be the only one who is still my friend."

Putting down his surfboard, Ted took a seat next to Eve and stared up into her eyes, "Everybody doesn't hate you. Listen, what you're going through is tough and it's not your fault. It's really mine. I'm sorry that I put you through this crap because you'd be having a kick ass senior year if it wasn't for my stupid decision."

He definitely felt sorry for Eve. Basically, if he hadn't kissed her that night – though a part of him wanted too – this mess wouldn't have been blown out of proportion. Life could have been much sweeter to the young Latina.

"And since I might be your only friend, why don't you come and hang out with me? Do have a bathing suit on you?"

"I have my stuff in the car – why?"

"Well because you miss – you're going to come surfing with me. You're going to hop up on this board and learn how to handle the waves," His determination to make up for his mistakes would begin today by befriending Eve and making right of the constant mistakes he's made, "Now you – get up and grab your stuff and meet me here okay."

A smile glowed across her face when she mounted up and ultimately strolled toward the parking lot. Ted remained vertical, as he witnessed her leave for the moment. His grin enlarged – Ted finally began to felt that he was actually a good person even with all his faults.

* * *

**A/N: **Another Chapter completed.  
I had this written for a while but finally broke through a bit of my writer's block.  
Updates will still be slow - one shots, i haven't forgotten.  
Please leave a lovely Review - thank you :)

_Next Chapter - Senior Testimonials, Torrie receives a call and AJ's life is turned upside down._


	29. The Past, Present & Future

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Twenty Nine _- The Past, Present & Future

Where exactly do the West Bevers see themselves in the future? Do they have high expectations for the future? Or do some not care at all when it comes to their future? That's why this year; courtesy of the idea from Tiffany, Senior testimonials were created.

"Dolph Ziggler, where do you see yourself in ten years?"

It would be a question Evan Bourne would be asking the three hundred some seniors that would walk through the media room, take a seat and be videotaped confessing to their ten year high school reunion, when this video would be shown once again – it would only put to test the question of who will be the most successful West Beverly Graduate of the class of 2011?

Currently in the hot seat was one hot head – Dolph Ziggler. After Evan had asked his question, Dolph remained silent pondering on the perfect answer to such a question. It required patience and deep thought. Evan – who was growing rather extremely impatient – maneuvered his hand to demonstrate to Dolph his time was being used while the blonde hair individual remained silent. It was then when Evan asked himself, _why the hell did I sign up for this?_

"Now Dolph – I'll ask you one final time, where do you see yourself in ten years?" His patience had run out and his infuriation was known in his cold tone.

"You know something like this just doesn't come to you man – I've actually got to think about this and carefully plan out what I plan on doing for the rest of my life so if you could bear with me, I'll get to my answer in just a few minutes," His eyes squinted, creating the idea that he had yet to come up with anything.

At this point, Evan was fuming, "You've had three weeks to think about your decision when it was announced on the West Beverly's Channel's first show of the year – is three weeks not enough to decide what you're going to do with your life?"

To keep the thriving journalist feet on the ground, Dolph used a hand gesture to keep him relaxed and calm and in the process, his mind had produced the perfect answer to such a question, "Evan, I've finally figured out my answer," Evan sighed in response. "In ten years, you know where I see myself – I see myself owning my own law firm one day, named Zig Zag."

Evan only had a two word response, "That's it?"

"That's it man – I'm done."

"And I took you all this time just to tell me you were going to own your own Law Firm one day?" Dolph nodded and Evan didn't take it lightly, responding with an eye roll and hitting the stop button, "Okay Dolph, great to hear your bright expectations for the future now if you'll show yourself to the door, I've got about another two hundred and ninety nine more students to hear," He gently stepped away from the center and made his exit, only to stop at the door's end to hear, "Nikki Bella, you're up next."

That's when he stood still unexpectedly still, eventually twisting his body around to witness a specific female making her way onto the stool he once sat on. The dark brown locks flowed down her body gently, as her legs crossed. She smiled directly into the lens and waited for Evan's go to voice her opinion on her future.

"You ready Nikki?" She nodded quickly, "Nikki Bella, Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

The question raced through her ears and her answer would be quick to follow, "Wow, ten years is a long way to go. I'll probably still be living in California because I'm a California girl forever. I'll be living right off the beach and I'll be enjoying some time with my fiancé as we'll be planning our extravagant wedding but I'll still have my most amazing career – working for me, when I plan on opening up my very own boutique somewhere on rodeo drive creating some of the most breathtaking dresses anyone has ever seen."

Her picture perfect planned life would be interrupted any moment now when Dolph would scoop into the camera, ruining her moment, "And I'll believe I will be Nikki's ever so handsome looking fiancé – 2021, meet Nikki Bella or should I be saying, Nikki Ziggler? Has a good ring to it if you ask me."

Evan just snapped off the stop button once Dolph had completed his little intrusion. Nikki was not pleased. Pushing him back forward , Evan witnessed as Nikki would take Dolph to town, "Oh my god, thanks for ruining my video – now when I come back here in ten years, I have to be reminded of how I was stuck in school with you. Thanks for the fond memories."

"We'll have plenty of fond memories once you become Mrs. Ziggler in about ten years."

_Unbelievable_. Nikki's only thought of Dolph as the moment.

"You honestly believe that I would actually marry you – none the less I don't even want to be in your presence. Seriously Dolph, we're you dropped as a child because I feel as if you have a few screws that happened to have fallen out of that head of yours."

"Nikki, babe – calm down."

"Babe? I am not your babe and don't ever call me that again. If you'll excuse me Dolph, I'll off to go watch paint dry – that's a lot more interesting than you speaking to me."

Nikki strutted her way out in a fiercely manner. Dolph watched on and could only think _boy, I hate to see her go but I love to watch her leave_ as Nikki disappeared into the clutter of the hallways. Evan came over, placing his hand above Dolph's shoulder and only had a short selection of words for him, "Dude, she doesn't like you – I think she hates you now."

Evans's negativism didn't strike fear in Dolph, it could only make him more confident that he will get Nikki Bella one day – even if it maybe in 2021.

* * *

The workload was even immense than it ever was or probably ever will be especially around this time. On her right, a stack of College recommendation letters and on her left, a complete stack of college applications she must help correct. Being a Guidance counselor was one word: Difficult.

Well, at least Torrie saw it that way. Her patience was running low – all of this had to be completed by tomorrow but that was going to be difficult. It looks like she'll be spending the night in her office.

Her blackberry screen suddenly lite up with a phone call labeled as unknown – Torrie's eye peeled over from the stack of papers and took her phone into her hand, pressing the send button and placing the device toward her ear, "Hello?"

No response at first.

"Hello?"

Again, no response and it was just when she was about to end the call was when she heard, "Torrie?" come through the ear piece which brought Torrie to bring her phone back right up against her ear.

"Torrie, are you there?"

Her mind would process the voice triggering her eyes to widen much larger than they usually do as everything had finally started to make some sense. The person on the phone was none other than her best friend, Stacy.

"– Stacy is that – Oh my god, is it you?"

Flabbergasted – Torrie was completely stunned to hear the sweet blonde's tender voice yet again and could only picture her lovely frame right before her, that was until she decided an interrogation was in order as Torrie wasn't too happy to hear that Stacy had just run off like that.

"You Stacy – You've got to start explaining and telling me what the hell is going on and where the hell are you? For the past three months, I've been nothing but worried sick about you."

"Seattle – I got this good deal on a two bedroom apartment in the city."

After that night, Stacy just left. Her car lead her onto a road that was destined to talk her north, all the way into Washington State where she could restart on a better note and eventually into the city of Seattle where she was lucky to find a simple apartment in the center of the city. It wasn't fancy but it will do for the time being.

"What the hell are you doing in Seattle?"

"I just got onto the road and that's where it took me. It's actually a nice city," Stacy walked over her two bedroom apartment, staring out into the rainy afternoon in Seattle. Her eyes traced the rain drops that would strike her window and continued to speak with Torrie, "I should have called you earlier about this but I wasn't too sure. How is everything back home?"

"Everything's fine here but what I want to know is what are you doing in Seattle and when do you plan on coming back home."

"I am home – Seattle is my home with Emily and Connor," The rough stern tone in her voice was made known. That was her anger being expressed, "I can never come back to Beverly Hills and deal with the horrible memories. Too much pain lies there and I can't do that to myself nor my children."

A new Stacy emerged; at least that's what Torrie thought about this entire thing. The stern and cold tone wasn't like Stacy but this could very well be a hurt woman who's endured so much in her life and couldn't deal with it anymore, "We miss you – Randy misses you and constantly thinks about you."

" – Oh Randy has a heart? I'm sure Dawn is keeping him company."

"Dawn's gone. They fired her and she's left town for good so you can come home now."

"Torrie, it isn't as easy as that. What am I going to return home to? A cheater? Randy and I are finished. I don't ever want to see him again and once I get myself more settled her, I'm going to proceed with the divorce proceedings and rid him from my life. He's completely broken my heart," Her words broke up, as the sadness was clear in her speech, "and I want nothing more to do with Randy Orton."

"Maybe you can work this whole thing out? Give it another chance – I mean Chris and Trish gave their relationship another shot and now they are doing well. Stacy, I just hate to see the both of you like this. Randy comes over and you can constantly see the guilt in his eyes and the times where he asks me whether or not any of us has heard from you. You've got to give this a try. You've been married for five years and can't throw this away…"

"…And that's when you're wrong. I've given Randy plenty of chances – one chance to many and I can't bear the pain any longer. If he had really cared, he wouldn't have done what he would have done."

Stacy's mind could only flashback to the entire show was had witnessed.

_Her finger trembled over the 'Okay' button but she accepted – and after that she wished she would have not opened up the message._

_Oh, Randy.._

_A video rolled of Randy – in another woman's bed – and the two were uncontrollable as they continued to take everything a step further._

_Her heart had completely sunken. It crashed to the bottom of the floor and completely splattered everywhere. Randy was with another woman and it was right there, unfolding right in front of her. As the video continued on, the face of the other woman was becoming clearer and clearer._

_It was Dawn Marie was that laying beneath Randy, enjoying every second of it and even smiling directly into the camera._

_This meant one thing and one thing only – they were officially over._

_The video continued and Stacy couldn't bear to hold in her sadness any longer. She shut her phone down as she had seen enough and couldn't watch another second of that. It was hurting her too much._

_What else could she do now? She's lost Randy and soon, she thought she was going to lose her mind with the role she'd been on. Eventually, she knew Randy was going to come back here and beg for forgiveness but she wasn't going to have any of that. No begging and no convincing. It would be best if she just leaves and never come back. For the sake of her sanity and wellbeing, it was time to leave Beverly Hills and go somewhere Randy couldn't find her or the children._

Shutting her eyes and once she opened her eyelids, the tears droplets would travel down her cheeks slowly, eventually crashing down onto the wooden floor below her.

"I have to go but Torrie, you have to promise me that you won't tell Randy you spoke to me or where I am. You have to promise me that?"

Such a heavy task placed onto Torrie's heart. The mother understood how severely Randy regretted what he had done but then again she could feel Stacy's pain. Eventually, she went through with Stacy's wishes, "I Promise –"

* * *

The question was now directed right toward her and her turn came to answer. Sitting on the wooden stool, Tiffany pondered. Being a perfectionist, she had planned ahead everything she had wanted. It consisted of attending Harvard Law School and open up a huge firm in either Boston, New York or Chicago, then spend a few years in the Law field where she'd meet her husband who himself was a lawyer. They'd eventually marry and have two wonderful children, a boy named Samuel and a girl named Fiona and the entire family would live on a small farm in a suburban neighborhood.

That's how she had her entire life planned. Thrilling, isn't it? Her eyes laid firmly staring at the camera lens and she didn't want her answer to be too perfect but still seem realistic and simple. Nothing way to over the top but something every student here at West Beverly would have. Pursing her lips together while her mind created the answer she wanted to hear she thought for the start.

"Well in just ten years, I will be successful. I'll be successful no matter what I am doing or where in this planet I am. That's where I'll be in ten years," Ending her comment with a smile while Evan watched on also giving into a smile while AJ Lee – a new member of the West Beverly Channel – remained in an daze of confusion.

"That's it?"

AJ Lee, she was a nice girl somewhere behind her false grin but her criticism wasn't to alluring nor was her goal to overcome and do anything she could do, including joining the West Beverly Channel, Cheerleading and all other 10 afterschool activities. For her to be blissful for another individual, it was trying to make Maryse not look like a complete materialistic bitch – which basically meant it was completely impossible. That was AJ and if you didn't like it, she'd probably criticize you for even thinking about it.

"Like I understand your whole goal in life but how can you be successful without knowing what you're going to do? It doesn't make any sense. If that was my answer, I'd be sitting back in that chair and giving this school a really answer," huffed out AJ. Her arms crossed into an arrogant position, while her eyes darted down at Tiffany.

"AJ, I think I'm going I'm not going to need any more assistance for today," For his sanity and everyone else's, it was obviously best that she leave the remainder Senior Testimonials to Evan, "Thanks for all the great help – you did great."

"My work here is done."

With her final words spoken, AJ turned to the door and made her way through the door far far away from the media room. Evan's eyes traveled back to Tiffany and an apology would soon follow, "Sorry about that – AJ's just a complicated girl so ignore her and don't befriend her. Did that, now I regret it."

Releasing a small giggle from her lips, Evan looked headed out of the room to grab a few more tapes for the camera. Tiffany's fifteen seconds of fame were complete. Launching her bag over her shoulder, Tiffany stepped toward the exit only to be surprised to see the large individual standing right before her.

"Oh hey Jack."

Jack Swagger leaned against the Door's edge, grinning down at the young blonde. His hand remained dug in his pockets as a compliment rolled off his tongue, "Quite the outlook you've got for yourself Tiffany. You're going to be successful no matter what."

"Have you done yours yet?"

"Yeah, mine is looking successful as I play quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys or New England Patriots. Unfortunately, I haven't decided which team would sign me to my eighty million dollar deal. I'll find out sooner or later once Notre Dame accepts me."

Graciously smiling at the football player, she couldn't control herself every time he was around her. Usually her cheeks would tint red, her knees shook lightly and sometimes her words would get misconstrued when she spoke in front of her. To her it sounded a lot like she was garnering up a crush on Jack Swagger.

"Wonderful to hear of the amazing things you have planned for your future, Mr. Quarterback and I'm sure you're going to achieve them," Her hair gently fell forward as her head came forward but eventually she pulled back, facing forward, "I better be going, I still have one more class to attend too."

Trying to pass by his side, she was stopped. His body had maneuvered to the side, looking her stone cold in the eyes as he continued on, "Quick little question I've got to ask before you're on your way," She nodded, "Parents are gone for the weekend and I'm throwing a little party tomorrow night. Will I see you there?"

A Party? Only another chance to get closer to Jack and dig more into his mind and discover more about a remarkable person she learned he is, "Yes, you'll be seeing me there."

"Great!"

"I'll see you then."

An excited Tiffany ran off but wouldn't see know that what she was about to discover about Jack was something she wouldn't like at all.

* * *

"– And after I conquer the fashion world, I am going to have the wedding of the year where my fiancé and I, Channing Tatum, we'll wed on a beach in Bora Bora in the romantic sunset and have three children named Hannah, Scott and Liam and we'll probably move right back here into Beverly Hills, get a huge mansion where we'll live happily ever after. Oh and did I mention I'll probably win the Noble Peace Prize in fashion? One of those things exists, right?"

Maryse's testimonial was a little over the top. Evan remained there after hearing Maryse's ten minute long testimonial come to an end. He wasn't too pleased on how long this all took for her to complete but then again, he shouldn't be too surprised because it's Maryse after all.

"Are we done yet?"

"Yes, we're finished Evan," Getting up onto her feet, Maryse grinned in pride as her feet led her the door, she was pleasantly surprised with a guest waiting right before her, "I've been looking for you all day and now you decide to show up – you missed the greatest senior testimonial of all time just now. Shall I repeat it?"

Mike or The Miz, as he had liked to be called viciously grinned while his arm traveled over her shoulder, leaning down on her, "Assuming yours went well as my dream of owning the Denver broncos and being a complete billionaire is now recorded onto the video I left for everyone to see when it actually happens."

As they continued down the hall, the French blonde simply giggled, "Well my dream of being married to Channing Tatum will be made known when the both of us come to that silly high school reunion in ten years and surprise everyone."

"Isn't he married or something?"

"In ten years he won't – he'll be placing a ring onto my finger and no one elses," The cocky smirk allured of face, "And just maybe you'll be invited to the wedding of the year."

"I was thinking something along the line of ditching the actor and maybe joining me and my fellow Denver Broncos in my glorious mansion in Malibu – Would you ditch your Channing Tatum dream for something a little more realistic?"

Quick to Answer, she gave him an answer he didn't want, "No," She simply said, "And what makes you think you're going to own a football team? And actually be that rich? Michael, you're a sadly living in a little dream that is about to turn into a nightmare."

"And chances of you marrying Channing Tatum are slim to none, Maryse – as of now, you're stuck with me and you're not going to go anywhere, especially not the arms of some loser movie star," Miz continued on, bashing the dreams of Maryse's future, "Looks like you're going to settle for me."

"Oh really?"

"Speaking of settling with me, I was hoping we could go out to dinner tonight," said the Miz, "I've wanted to introduce you to my parents, if that's okay with you. We can all go to dinner tonight at the Beach club. They are dying to meet you because I think I talk about you all day – so tonight, at seven?"

The subject of meeting your boyfriend's parents was definitely a big step in the right direction. Maryse could only recall meeting Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes, Cody's Parents, and luckily they had hit it of pretty well but would the same go for Miz's Parents? For all she knew, she might make a full out of herself tonight but by the look on Miz's face and his dyer words, he really wanted this to happen and this all had to go in with the whole moving forward process in this relationship.

"You're parents are going to love me, I can already see their faces when they first meet me. I'll be like the daughter they never had."

* * *

" – Ten years, um wow – well, by then I will have starred in several Broadway shows, living a life on the lower east side and probably moving forward onto a much bigger screen. Since my love for theater has blossomed this year – and yeah, that's about it."

Eve's Testimonial went a little like this. Her new dream in life was to become an actress on plays on New York City's famed Broadway and eventually hit the bigger screen. Unrealistic? Don't tell that to her. Her dream was her goal and now with the mentality that she wanted to spend a lifetime doing this, she was settled and determined more than ever.

"Alright, Thanks Eve," Evan told Eve, just as he ended her video. There was a bit of awkwardness between the two, since the whole blowout earlier in the month. Tension of course still existed between Eve and the rest of the school, in exception of a few individuals.

As Evan departed, another man came forward, clapping his hands in a slow fashion. Eve would turn over to see Ted DiBiase, standing right before her with that usually smirk on his face, "What seems to be so funny?"

"Your dream."

"Thanks for thinking that my future is an utter and complete joke – it just means so much to me, Ted!"

The sarcasm was clear and Eve quietly went along with it – Ted peeped in and smiled down at the brunette, "Enough of my little gags at you – got any plans for tomorrow night? The Swag is throwing –"

That's what instantly got her – the name 'The Swag' got her attention, causing her eyebrow to cock upwards, "The Swag?"

"Jack's new nickname – don't ask me why he's using it, he just calling himself that night now but in other news, you down to come tomorrow night?"

"Attending a ex-boyfriend's party who I'm unsure if we are on good terms or begin to reading my lines for my big debut on West Bev's big stage?" Decisions, decisions, decision – what to choose? "I think I'm going to pass, I've got a lot on my plate now that I've started this whole play."

"I didn't even want to go, I just wanted to know if I could get some company then maybe I'd consider going."

The smile that once laid across his lips, transformed into a frown and she couldn't help but feel bad for the football player and that's when an idea crawled into Eve's ever growing mind, "If you don't want to go to the party, why don't you come over tomorrow night? We can just sit around and hang out – maybe go over my lines with me because knowing me I'll be needing a lot of practice."

The answer was quick and short to roll off Ted's tongue, "Sure, how does eight sound?"

* * *

For Mr. AJ Styles, a simple History teacher at West Beverly High School, life was getting a little more interesting for once.

There he sat at a table made for two, with the other side unoccupied and awaiting for his guest to make her fashionably late appearance. The Beverly Hills Beach Club was cluttered with guests that Thursday evening, including some of his students from West Beverly. Though his eyes weren't on them, they remained attached to the entrance of the beach club, hoping she'd arrive any moment.

Lucky for him, the wait was over.

A woman, with a set of fiery red locks came forward. Her smile glowed in the air and her hair trailed behind her in the air. AJ took the moment to remind himself how beautiful he thought Christy Hemme was. Something about her, which was why he married her in the first place, came out at her. Fitted in a lime green strapless sequin dress, Christy walked forward eventually taking the seat before AJ.

"Sorry I was late. Traffic on San Vincente and to think I was missing LA – guess again. The traffic is the same as it was when I first left."

"Santa Monica isn't much different. Try sitting through an hour long traffic jam when you need to get Glendale for a job interview – sometimes I wish I could just fly where I needed to and not even have a car where I spend forty dollars to fill up my tank."

"Tell me about it. Thank God in SF, there's a bus stop at every corner and lucky for me, I'm right by a cable car stop so I hope onto that and take that straight to work," The benefits of living in San Francisco was definitely it's mass transportation – at least Christy thought that, "But enough of our complaints about LA traffic – I wanted to catch up with you until I was still here. How's everything been?"

"To recap my entire life since we haven't seen one another in like what – almost two years? For starters, I'm working at your old High School and that's been going pretty well for the past three years. I started dating again but that didn't work out to well but with Torrie, we've managed to stay friends since we work with one another and –"

"Hold on, if my ears heard correctly – you dated Torrie Wilson?"

"That would be her – tall and blonde Torrie. We dated for a couple of months earlier this year but we've decided to just remain friends since she got back together with her husband. She told me she went to High school with you."

Reaching forward, Christy took in hand a glass of water and sipped on it slowly, "Okay, maybe we shouldn't talk about what other ex-classmates of mine you may have dated in the recent years. I've been meaning to get a hold of you because there's something I really need to talk to you about and I think it's time that I just tell you."

The dinner was all about having to hear some news Christy had for AJ. His mind couldn't process what calling the two of them together to dinner to discuss something, "We're here to talk so let's talk."

There was no certain way to address the topic but just straight on forward. Releasing a deep breath, Christy would continue on, "After our divorce proceedings, like about two to three years ago. I moved to San Francisco two years ago and we handled the whole divorce after that. Well, there was I reason I left before the divorce was finalized –"

Pausing in the process, she wasn't certain on going forward with the rest of her response. Her words would change his life completely after this.

"And what? Christy, what happened?"

It was time to drop the bomb on AJ Styles.

" – AJ, I was pregnant and I had a baby. We have a son together."

The words rolled off her tongue and AJ wasn't taking to it kindly. From head to toe, he remained still and didn't move. The thought of having a son and not knowing about it certainly crushed him. _How could she keep me from him?_ Was the only thought traveling through his mind. Something like this was different from anything else – he has had a son walking on this planet and didn't even know he existed. To be lied to for all this time, it bothered him. AJ wasn't going to respond well to this all.

"What's his name?"

Christy revealed, "Samuel," as the name she had given their childen, "But I call him Sammy. He likes the nickname," Christy awaited for a response but wasn't getting anywhere with this all until she asked, "AJ, are you okay?"

"Do you think I'm okay? I just found that I have a two year old son that my ex-wife hasn't told me about – I'm not okay! Christy, how in the hell couldn't you have told me this? It's been two damn years and I'm sitting here minding my own business and little do I know I have a son with my ex-wife. I don't understand any of this and why you wouldn't tell me this? Don't you think I have a right to know this?"

His yelling alarmed her, frightening her as well in the process as her time came to give her defense, "You told me you didn't want to do anything with me anymore and I figured you wouldn't want to have a child in the situation we were in. I didn't know what I was thinking and I figured it was the best thing to do in a situation like this. I just made a mistake and I'm sorry –"

"– sorry isn't going to be enough Christy. It isn't going to bring back the years I missed with my son. I can't even look at you right now."

Taking the napkin that rested on his lap, he tossed it against his plate and abruptly began to exit the Beach Club. His mind raced with madness that he didn't even know he has had a son in this world and all of this was remained hidden by his ex-wife.

Her eyes produced a set of tears that traveled down her cheeks watching AJ walk away from her. Her secret was out in the absolute worst way possible and the blame game would only place the blame onto her. It's all her fault for this all and now she had to pay with the consequences.

* * *

"I am a complete idiot!"

Mourning the loss of having a horrible evening with Miz's Parents, both Nikki and Kelly remained by the wounded blonde's side in the courtyard before their next class would begin. How could she describe the night she spent? A complete disaster, to be honest – thought it wasn't given off directly, but indirectly anyone could figure out that Miz's parents weren't too fond of her and there wouldn't much way to repair it all.

"Tell us what happened?" A concerned Kelly went forward, consoling the blonde, "How'd the night go? Maybe they don't hate you, try not to jump to conclusions."

The indefinable look of anger and stupidity radiated off her face followed by a simple expression, "You're kidding me, right?" Kelly remained confused, eventually shrugging her shoulders, "They hate me – I can look in their eyes and see it. Anything I said, they'd give me this horrible look. I complimented his mother's dress asking if it was Dolce and Gabbana and she abruptly told me it wasn't Dolce but really it was Versace – don't you understand when you insult someone's fashion, you're already considered a complete bitch and I did that. I'm such an idiot."

"Well, that was just his mother," Nikki said, "Maybe it went well with his dad?"

"Even worse, in the process of trying to get Mike's dad to like me, I make him hate me and I make his mother hate me even more. She probably thought I was some sort of psycho when I said – Mike really gets his looks from his dad, if I only he was fifteen years younger – and then that's when he completely froze and Mike's mom was about one more step away from ripping my heart out."

"Ripping on Mother's choice of fashion and hitting on his dad – now I see why you really bombed at this," Nikki, being a little unsupportive wasn't received well when Maryse shot a glare, "But why do you think you messed up here – you've met tons of boyfriend's parents and it never happened."

"That's a question I'd love to have answer to, Nikki. What was with me? Am I just a horrible person?"

"Don't say that," Kelly told Maryse, "Avoid the negativism and focus on how to make it right. Maybe you can talk to them one on one and get everything straight. Maybe you can send them flowers –"

"Chocolates" Nikki added, "Parents love chocolates unless they are allergic to some chocolate or flowers. I'm not too sure but you can fix it with gifts and you're like amazing at fixing things with gifts."

"I just need to think about this."

Distraught enough, Maryse quickly rose to her feet and ran off into the crowd of students, leaving Nikki and Kelly alone as the blonde reflected on her time with them.

* * *

"Are you finally ready?"

The words elevated through Evan's throat, to his final senior testimonial individual who had waited last minute to complete her testimonial and it happened to be the editor's girlfriend, Evan. Evan smiled as Kelly positioned herself on the very stool the other three hundred some seniors sat on. Her legs remained cross and her hands rested on her knees. The soft and delicate blonde hair of hers collapsed downward with her smile gazing into the air. She was finally ready.

"I'm ready."

Pressing the record button and the red light came up as Evan asked one last time, "Kelly, Where do you see yourself ten years from now?"

"If I'm correct, ten years from now it would be the year 2021 and crossing my fingers that the world doesn't come to an end by then. I'll probably be right back here at West Beverly being a history teacher. I love this school so much and I would love to be back here in a different position."

Kelly's eye traveled to the door, where a figure remained standing. His blue eyes remained glued onto the blonde and soon they'd exchange glances directly. Her eyes met his and his met hers and that's where she got to explain the second half of her confessional.

"And I'm going to be the happiest I've ever been, I know that. I'll have wonderful friends to depend on and I'll have someone so special to me that he can never be duplicated – he'll the perfect person made for me who I know would stand by me through just about anything. He'll be everything I want and just about everything I'll ever need in my life."

The words flew out perfectly, directly into the ears of the individual who it was meant for. He'd smile in response to her lovely words for the future. To get some words out of her like this meant so much to him. It was all he wanted to her from her, was her true feelings and indications of what she exactly wanted. He wanted her and now, she wanted him. All was fitting right into place now – except Evan, where was his place to be? Where would he be with all of this?

Evan smiled on to Kelly, thinking it was all for him – little did the young Bourne know that it wasn't for him. Coming forward to Kelly, Evan pulled her into hug and a kiss onto her head, he smiled, "That was probably the best testimonial all day – I'm just going to get some tapes and I'll be ready to go. Maybe we can head to the beach club?"

"Beach club it is."

He smile in response before heading out of the room and in came another individual with an even bigger smile on his face. Not even saying a word, he'd cup her face and leave a sweet kiss right onto Kelly's lips, something he had longed to do for so long. The feeling in the kiss left Kelly in such a spell that she didn't want it to end. Her heart finally knew what it needed – and he was right here, standing right before her.

Pulling away from her, Cody went on to say, "You don't know how much I missed seeing you."

"I just happy that I know what makes me happy."

Without any further a due, Kelly pulled Cody up into another kiss and it was just as sweet as the previous one but something may rain on their parade really soon if that red dot on that camera continues to light up.

* * *

"But Scott, I can't just run off like that – I have a family, I have a life and I have responsibilities. How can I just leave all of this for a chance to be with you? Believe me, I want nothing more than this but I can't like this. There must be another way!"

"Kate, there is no other way. This is the only way we can have our happiness but you must leave it all behind."

A dramatic play reading on a Friday night? That's how both Eve and Ted were spend their evening, though it could possibly be spent at a party at The Swag's house but that wasn't the case. Eve dressed in a sundress, had her feet dumped into the pool's water while Ted did the same, except rolling up his jeans with his script in his hand. Crack of laughter came rolling of his tongue at certain points, much to Eve's displeasure and all but he couldn't help it – it was amusing to him.

"If you crack up one more time, I'm going to toss you directly into this pool – clothes and all. Don't push me Ted DiBiase," A warning emerged from Eve and she was serious. Ted's laughter came to an abrupt end, in terms of Eve's warning, "Much better, now we can maybe go somewhere."

"We are somewhere – we're halfway through your role in this play so quit the worrying," He kindly added, in hopes of trying to keep the Latina's feet onto the ground, "Nothing to worry about."

A selection of words came out to her and weren't exactly the nicest ones she would have wanted to hear right about now, "Nothing to worry about? I've got two weeks to remember eight different scenes. There is plenty to worry about but of course you don't care because your job is to raise the curtain – you obviously couldn't screw that up – or could you?"

"Well, it's really easy – you just tug onto the –"

"It isn't requirement to explain to me how to pull a rope, I think I may have learned the death defining task earlier in my life – what is with me? Is it my acting? Am I bad or something because why go any further with this when I could pull out and give it to someone else who deserves it."

Eve's head collapsed onto her hands in defeat – she was giving up.

"You've got nothing to worry about – I'm sorry if my incontrollable laughter is making you a little uncomfortable but you shouldn't put yourself down. You're a great actress – heck, I watched your addition and I thought you did great. Don't give up on yourself."

"Thanks for the strength Jesus –"

His offering was none other than a sigh of relief, "Shall we continue forward with your script? I was just getting into Scott's character."

Flipping through the pages of the script, she pinpointed the spot they had left off at, "We were right here – just before the end of scene four. You turn is up."

Preparing himself, he'd clear his throat creating the ever so annoying noise in his throat, Ted would bring out a different side to him, "Pack your things – we're leaving this town whether you like it or not. A life without you is not a life worth living."

"I can't – I just can't. Accept it, I cannot leave this all as much as I would love to be with you but others need me."

"I need you – damn it, I need you. I show you how much I'll need you."

They've come to a dead end where the scene would end with a kiss but they were only into rehearsing the words instead, "That's the end – now Scott and Kate would kiss. I'll be kissing Drew for about three straight nights in this play."

Seeing how there was a kiss in the end of this scene for the main characters, Ted didn't see any harm in taking that risk. Coming in closer to Eve, she could feeling her light breath hitting against his lips and soon he capture her lips with a kiss – good enough to be in the play. Taking back by the kiss, Eve was divided into what exactly she should be doing but the kiss felt so right that he didn't want him to stop – it was nothing compared to the first kiss they ever shared because this one never felt more right.

* * *

_Hot and Dangerous – _

Lyrics of Ke$ha's song blared through the rented speakers in Jack Swaggers a.k.a The Swag's hilltop mansion. Movie star father was off filming in China taking Mrs. Swagger along with her so it only really meant one thing: Party.

Half of West Beverly's elite had made their presence known as the smell of alcohol reeked through the many breathes of students. If there was no one that wasn't drinking, it would have to be Tiffany Terrell – who just walked right into the party and stood out. She was drunk nor under the influence of any other type of mysterious substance that the students were currently in.

Getting her body through here was like trying to sneak between park cars – Tiffany managed to maneuver herself through the carnage. Though it seemed a little odd, it was somewhat a little exciting for Tiffany. Back in Louisiana, they never had parties like this. Tiffany managed to discover a few things: one, Beverly Hills was no Louisiana and two, the amount of alcohol being consumed here is nearly triple that amount kids in Louisiana would have.

Her eyes and mind were focused on finding on finding Jack, who after all was hosting the party. It's always appropriate to greet the host of the party and luckily, she'd be able to do that once her eyes caught the fohawk styled hair. Walking over to her, he tapped him on the shoulder and smiled, "Hey Jack."

"Tiff – you finally showed up. I was thinking you were never going to come. Let me get you a drink," Taking forward a can of beer, he placed it into the infamous red cup and handed it to Tiffany. He raised his glass, knocking it with hers in a form of cheers. She'd sip the beer gently, before pulling back, "Thanks for coming; you're going to have a blast."

"My first party in California, it's pretty exciting. I can't wait to tell my friends back home I was at Carl Swagger's house, drinking with his son. They're going to be so jealous."

"You came alone?"

"Yeah, I just came by myself. I don't really have any other friends here – I think you might be my first friend here –"

"I won't be the only on. Once you get all adjusted and comfortable, you're going to have ton of friends here."

His sweet words really meant a lot to her – it touched her right into her ever so beating heart that suddenly began to race now that he was with her. He took a hold of her hand and pulled her into a corner. _He's holding my hand? Oh my god, he's hold my hand! _Her mind went bizarre when Jack pulled her off to a much quieter spot than usual.

"Sorry – the music is ringing into my ears so I thought I'd come here so I can actually hear you."

"Oh really –"

"And to watch this happen to you."

"What –"

Confusion hit her mind but something else eventually hit her. A mixture of an unknown substance came crashing down onto her once Jack stepped further away from her. The brown like liquid sunk into her hair and clothing as others began to turn around slowly, witness Tiffany being covered in garbage. Some were shocked while others found this hysterical, including Jack Swagger who was in a fit of laughter. Soon, more would appear and a specific individual came forward, along with her friends – Layla El. Her laughter couldn't be contained since the mere sight of Tiffany's embarrassment was hysterical.

Tiffany stood there – the embarrassment filled her body and came forward in the form of tears. No need to be strong when you feel so weak.

"Oh Tiffany! You look absolutely flawless now – since you're a dirty whore for laying your eyes on my man, I wanted to really embrace your dirty side so that explains that whole mess I put you in – there may be some rotten food in there, a used condom or two and some used tampons. I hope you enjoy though but you've never looked so beautiful."

Tiffany's eyes would travel to Jack, who still couldn't contain his laughter any further and that's when Layla stepped in, "Oh and thank Jack because he was in on it the whole time – he helped me and he's going to get quite the reward for his job well done."

The crowd flocked around Tiffany. She'd never felt more humiliated in her life ever before. The smell of the garbage on her and the embarrassment of being a victim to a practical sick joke didn't go well with her. Why was she her? Why was it her to be the victim? Hasn't she suffered enough before?

Layla's arrogant smirk remained clear and known as she gave Tiffany one last message, "When Layla gets her revenge, she gets them good. Have a wonderful evening Tiffany."

Humiliation and embarrassment continued.

Tiffany wiped off some of the garbage that had fallen on her, as he tears continued to roll down her cheeks. Layla and Jack continued to laugh along as if what they did was right when it was completely wrong. While walking past the two, she looked Jack directly in his eyes and asked herself, _why would he do something like this? _As the tears rolled down. Her body would eventually pull her out of the party and out into the open. The humiliation was far from over – it was only the beginning.

* * *

**A/N:** Completed, can't believe it's Chapter 29.  
Long chapter, i know but enjoy and drop a review :)  
Updates are moving a little faster - once school is over next month, i'll be back on a better schedule.

_Next Chapter - The aftermath of Tiffany's cruel joke, Kelly & Cody almost get caught and Maryse is stunned after a discovery.  
_


	30. Seventeen Candles

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty _- Seventeen Candles

Perfection – it's what Maryse always strived for ever since she was a little girl. Perfection was her way to showing the world how amazing she really is and how much of a better person she is than everyone else. And to show it even further, she'd plan the biggest seventeenth birthday bash that this world has ever seen, right here in the Beverly Hills Beach Club.

Last year's sweet sixteen obviously wasn't that sweet but Maryse's mind wasn't on that. It was only on trying to make her sweet sixteen look like trash compared to her even sweeter seventeen.

Early in the morning, she'd spend placing some final touches on decisions for her birthday extravaganza including the collection of balloons she'd need, the life size ice sculpture of herself and bottles of champagne that would be delivered that morning, straight from France. A lot of thought must be placed into this process and certainly wasn't something you think up of overnight. She was going to blow each and everyone's minds with this party.

"Now we'll place the ice sculpture over here and have all the bottle of champagne be stuck into the surrounding ice – make sure the champagne is in by eight o'clock sharp because that's when our guests will arrive. I want all the finger foods to be placed right here and have the guys I choose walk around shirtless and hand them out and we'll have the entrance right here where the bouncer can only allow people in with an invitation. No exceptions or bribes will be accepted – if caught, you will not get paid."

The cook, one of the waiters and the two bouncers she had hired nodded in agreement to her demands. They'd break apart following when Maryse's eyes would travel around and she could picture the amazing fun her guests would be having at this once in a lifetime experience.

While escorting herself out of the hall she'd host her birthday, Maryse was stunned to see an individual before her. Mike's mother remained standing while she held a tennis racket in her hand. Observing her, Maryse could only think of the humiliation she put herself through with his parents and the countless mistakes she made that evening – no wonder they didn't like her.

No time for mistakes – it's time for some redemption.

Striding forward to his mother, she'd tap her shoulder. The brunette would gradually twist her body and wasn't quiet fond to find Maryse standing right before her, "Oh, Maryse – it's you. You come to the beach club as well?"

"Yeah – I have a membership. I'm hosting my birthday party tonight here as well because I just love this place so much."

"Wonderful," She forced out the fake smile, "I must be –"

"Mrs. Mizanin, do you mind if I just speak to you for just one moment?" As she was just going to escaped, she allowed Maryse to continue with what was on her mind, "I know a few nights ago we didn't get off on the right foot and I may have made some horrible impressions but I really would like to apologize for whatever I may have said. I was a little nervous about meeting you guys. I hope you can give me another chance because I really enjoy being with you son, you raised one heck of a guy."

A sweet grin appeared. Maybe a second chance was in order for the young blonde – after all, meeting parents aren't always easy task to complete. Forgiveness was in order for Maryse, "Maybe I over shot you a bit but you're really a charming girl and you make my Michael really happy so I'd love to give you another chance."

"Thank you Mrs. Mizanin – by the way loving the cute tennis shoes."

"Why Thank you, Maryse – I best be heading off. I've got another game with my friend that I just must beat her in. Have a lovely day."

As Mrs. Mizanin walked over, Maryse continued to grin until she was out of sight. Maryse took a moment to think. _Those were the ugliest shoes I've ever seen – what was she thinking?_

* * *

Her eyes remained glued at the windowsill, staring out at the building that housed her fellow classmates. Her mind kept telling her not to walk in there or she'd deal with even more humiliation and bullying. Tiffany couldn't bare it – being the center of bullying wasn't her idea of a good time. Her fib had come to its end and now she had to face reality.

Tiffany's mother sat silently in the driver's seat, waiting for her daughter to exit the vehicle. It was extremely abnormal that Tiffany would act this way ever since she had come down with this really bad cold.

Little did Tiffany's mother know the real reasoning on why she didn't want to get out of this car. Her initial fear would be seeing Layla, Alicia or any of the girls but probably the one she didn't want to see the most had to be Jack. After it all, she finally thought she found someone she could trust and find a friendship she could admire but not in this place. Not in a place like Beverly Hills were the people are just plain crueler.

What kind of world was this? As much as she didn't want to admit it, she wanted to be home. At least back home she was accepted. At least she was treated right.

Her mother grew highly impatient as time persisted, seeing as she had to be at work in about a half an hour, "Tiff, don't get comfortable now. Get into school – I've got to get to work seeing how I've been home for three days taking care of you while you remained in bed."

Sick – she wasn't sick physically but emotionally couldn't take the antics would happen in school.

Pulling the car door out, she smiled at her mother saying, "I'll see you later."

"Have a good day."

_That's going to be easy of course. _Tiffany slammed the door shut and soon her mother would speed away. There she stood; it was her against the world at this point. Managing to pull her feet to the door of the school, she'd receive a few stares and laughter; some of the students had known what had happened to her and she wouldn't be too surprise to see if anymore know about it.

Coming directly in front of her, just as she was about to walk into school was a brunette haired girl – tall and beautiful would be the first words Tiffany would describe her with and she could only imagine the worse could happen with this – she was probably here to have her round of picking on her.

"Excuse me."

"…You're Tiffany right? You just moved here from Louisiana or something?" Nodding to the woman's question, she graciously smiled – and something in the smile told her this girl wasn't like anyone else. The sweet vibes radiated off her, "I'm Eve – Eve Torres and just a year ago, I was the new girl around here. I was right where you were standing so I know exactly what your going through."

"Where'd you move from?"

"Denver, Colorado," Reasoning behind why she was coming up to Tiffany wasn't to bother her but she knew what was happening. News travels around school quickly and she knew what happened to her and couldn't but help feel terrible for her, "I actually came up to talk to you because I know what happened last week – at Jack's party and let me tell you, I'm so sorry about what happened. Some people can be really cruel and heartless and I just want to let you know that I'm here for you. Seeing how I've been isolated from this school for the past two months, you and I have quiet the things in common."

Finally, someone had understood her. She's found a friend in the form of Eve, who too moved here but also seemed to have suffer, "This isn't a sick joke or anything? You aren't really trying to be nice only to pull some other prank?"

"No – of course not," Genuinely she spoke, "Unlike half the people in this town, I actually own a heart – and a brain as well. Come on, let's walk and talk for a little while."

Guiding the blonde into the school, Tiffany could finally feel that she had someone. She wasn't going to be alone.

* * *

Sitting in the midst of the clogged cafeteria, Cody and Kelly remained close to one another trying not to give away anything that they were secretly transpiring in relationship that no one knew about. How to conceal such a huge thing was difficult and complicated but somehow and someway they were doing it and doing a heck of a great job at it.

Her feelings for Cody had grown over time – from that moment on junior night to the entire summer where she had spent every day with him, from sunrise to sunset. With Cody, everything was just perfect. Life seemed so perfect and rewarding. But on the other set of things, Evan was the huge barrier that was blocking the two of them from being together. He doesn't deserve for this to happen to him. If there was ever someone that was so sweet and kind, it was him. But she had to make a choice and her choice was standing right before her.

Cody certainly was on the same page as Kelly. His relationship with her was the only thing on his mind and nothing else. Evan was his friend and there had to be the perfect way to let all the news out in a proper way. His mind couldn't help but think about this entire mess he was placed right in the middle of but he had to do it – no matter who it was going to hurt. His happiness matter a lot, just as anyone else's would.

Staring senseless at her meal, Kelly couldn't take another bite – not that it was too much. It just tasted horribly and it could be shown in the scowl she'd release after every bit, "I can't continue to feed myself this garbage."

"I knew the fries didn't look good but you continued to tell me that they weren't bad and now, you've finally admitted it. Face it, I was right."

His cocky confident answer wasn't being accepted lightly that she'd offer a slap onto his shoulder, "Shut up. I swear, you're getting way to cocky now. You're no genius, you know that?"

"Whatever."

"Let's just talk about something a little more important," Time to get serious, Kelly fixated her body to look at Cody, "What are we going to do about this whole Evan ordeal? How are we going tell him this? What's the nicest way to say I can't be with you anymore because I really want to be with you best friend?"

"We'll think of something and it will come to us but my first idea would have to be just to sit down with him and let out the truth – let him know were crazy about each other and we can't lie to him nor ourselves anymore. Is that genius or not?"

An eye roll was offered but he basically did explain how they could approach the situation the correct way – she just wasn't too fond on the attitude, "That's a good start. I suppose I can bring it up like that. I can explain to him first everything and then we can do something together. Being his girlfriend, I should lay out some of the ground work and move forward."

"That's my girl – god, I wish I could just kiss you but I can't. I think I may give away that idea that the two of us are secretly dating."

"Out of my way, weirdo!"

The voice sounded way too familiar. Kelly was immediately caught by the voice and turned over to find Maryse, hovering over the many students handing out neatly packed envelopes. Some were awarded with the envelope while a few were not. The individual handling it all was Maryse; and that envelope had the contents of information for her big seventeenth birthday bash. The only way to get in is if you have your invite.

Coming toward the pair sitting down, she dropped down their invites and she began to go on and on, as she would daily, "You two are invited to the party of the decade, my birthday party. Your presence would be appreciated and try not to dress as beautiful as me. See you tonight."

Staring down at the envelope, he unfolded it and read the contents of the invite, "Come one, come all to Maryse's Seventeenth birthday – even sweeter than her sixteen. Rules, there are no rules – well just one, don't try and look prettier than me," He'd soon jokingly said, "I'm going to look a hell out a lot prettier than her now."

Cody was getting closer and closer to Kelly, just wanting to place a kiss onto her lips. He wanted to but he had to remember he couldn't - even with the sight of Evan beginning to approach them. As much as he wanted to, he can't. But one day, he will finally be able to worry free and hopefully that would be soon.

* * *

Down in Santa Monica, the waves were perfect to go for a quick surf. Both Dolph and Ted didn't want to miss out on an opportunity like this. Waves like this don't come too often. Tugging his board under his arm, Ted marched down the beach in his wetsuit as Dolph began to drag his along the sand.

It was time for the guys to have their time to talk.

"What's this I hear about you and Eve going out?" Asked Dolph. Ted didn't immediately respond. He only thought about Eve for the moment – her beautiful eyes, smooth hair and beautiful figure came into his mind. Surely, they've begun dating but they've mainly kept it all on the down low, so others wouldn't know about it. Now that Dolph knew, he wouldn't be surprised to hear if the rest of the school knew as well, "Well, man – aren't you going to answer the question?"

"Well, the cat's out of the bag – but yeah, Eve and I – we're dating but we're keeping in on the downside for a while. We don't want to deal with the shock expressions or anything along that just yet," He truthfully answered, "I only told Cody because since he and Eve dated once before, I wanted the okay and he was fine with it. Try not to open that mouth of yours and start spilling everything."

A bit shocked by his accusation that he was a blabbermouth shocked him, "I don't spill everything."

"Yeah, okay – I'll try and believe that."

He released a groan but tried not to get off topic much, "When did this all happen? I never knew you liked Eve. I thought you liked Maryse and then when that hit rock bottom, you went for Eve."

"I do like – I mean, I did like Maryse. After this mess, I got to know Eve and realized she's an amazing girl. She's sweet and kind – she's different from others girls I've been in a relationship with," And he meant it. Some girls were typical, some were boring and she was just different. Something about her just seemed so amazing, "And you – are you still hung up on Nikki? Her constant remarks on how she doesn't like you haven't really sunk in yet?"

"She likes me – she's just having trouble admitting it."

His eyes rolled in response. Dolph wasn't one to give up easily, "Dude, don't dig yourself deeper in this hole. If she doesn't like you, she doesn't like you. There are plenty of other girls around school that you could go after. Why Nikki? Why a girl who shows no interest in you?"

"I just can't explain it – She drives me crazy."

* * *

The sweet smell of her green tea flew into her ears and she'd aw to the wonderful smell of the sweet tea she was moments away from ingesting. To reward herself for another painful day at work, a cup of hot tea would do trick – and the addition of dropping her children off to stay with her parents for the evening. John had yet to come home from work so this was the perfect time to get some relaxation.

It wasn't until the door came slamming open and a loud, distinctive voice blaring through, "Torrie! Are you –"

"– I'm right here, John!"

Closing the door behind him, John came through the living room to greet his wife with a kiss on her lips and a sniff of her delicately scented tea, "I see you are having a nice afternoon with your nice tea, no kids and plenty of peace and quiet. I bet you hate me so much right now."

"If you were anyone else, I'd probably sock this cup of tea right into your face but seeing as you are my husband, I shall let it slide," Letting out a groan, Torrie took to the tea, placing it onto her lips and pouring down the sweet but hot liquid down her throat. She sighed afterwards, "Tea hits the spot. If only I was now getting a full body massage and spending my afternoon on a beach in Mexico, this would all be perfect."

"But you're not. You're in California which is a pretty close to Mexico."

"Aren't you supposed to be at practice? Thursdays are practice days so don't you and Randy coach our wildcats?" Asked Torrie, walking over and sitting down on John's lap, "You could maybe give me some Torrie time, so I can gain back the energy I've lost in a month."

"Randy made the choice to cancel it. He's not in the best mood. He told me today how he was trying to get in touch with Stacy's parents but they haven't called back or anything. It's really beating him out – he isn't the way he use to be."

And the thought of Stacy emerged. Torrie shared a conversation with Stacy only a short time ago and she understood why Stacy was doing this. She was hurt and what Randy had done wasn't near forgivable, at least for Stacy. And it was in Torrie's hands to keep Stacy's secret safe and sound. If word had got out, she'd be in trouble not only with Stacy for being untrustworthy and Randy would simply be devastated with her choice to keep this information under wraps.

Was she doing the right thing though? Sure, she was doing the right thing in a sense by keeping a promise but it was still wrong. Keeping such valuable information like this is painfully wrong but what choice did she have? There were two valid reasons but both seemed wrong but both seemed right. Was that possible?

"What's up with him?"

"He's very different. He's cold, distant and just plain out of his element. He's called off about three of our ten practices because he's not feeling very well. This isn't a Randy none of us are used to seeing."

_I should just tell John. _After hearing John's confession about Randy, all she wanted to do was just tell John everything. Her conversation with Stacy, her whereabouts and her feelings; she wanted to let that all go right about now. Turning her head to John, her face grew extremely concerned, "Randy's a complete mess. I think I know something that could help him feel better."

"What's that Babe?" He tightened his grip on Torrie's waist, "Tell me."

It was now or never – time to let the truth out or not. She wanted to do it but something said otherwise. Her mind began to play a sick game with her but eventually her mind came to a decision, one she wasn't proud of.

"You've got to take him out and let him just talk to you. Just do what best friends do, go out. In fact, go out tonight and just have some fun. Randy needs it and Randy needs you," She encouraged and placed a kiss onto his cheek, "I think he'll like it."

"Yeah, maybe we'll head down sunset – hit up a bar or two. He needs to loosen up a little and maybe get past this," John suggested, getting up and leaving Torrie on the chair, "But honestly, I don't know if he is ever going to get past something like this."

As John walked out of the living room, Torrie continued to ponder on John's final words. Was he right? Would Randy ever get past something like this? Her hopes could only hope that through this horrible time in his life, somehow and someway – that some good would come out of this.

* * *

There's only one person who loves herself so much than anyone on this planet – that would obviously be Maryse Ouellet.

She loves herself so much, that she'd get an ice sculpture to present at her seventeenth birthday party, have a video monitor project a special photo shoot she had a few weeks ago and shirtless men serve her close friends.

Four of her guests remained stunned – Jack, Cody, Evan and Kelly – they remained glued up on the ice sculpture that was presented up right at the entrance of the party. They stood amazed on how some of the details of Maryse's ice sculpture seemed a little – over the top. Evan was the first to present a comment, "Wow, now I can seriously call her an ice queen – who does this? Who would be this conceited and self centered that she'd have an ice replica of herself?"

"Maryse," Kelly simply stated, "Maryse is – well, she's Maryse. She can make anything happen."

"Yeah and apparently she thinks she has quiet the large ass," Jack's eyes could only crawl down to her assets and his brain was certainly in the gutter, "No, I mean I know Maryse's ass – every time during math when she walks down the row and back, I get the best glimpse and it looks nothing like that. It's like she had plastic surgery – just in the ice form. Does that make any sense?"

"Jack – or I mean, The Swag – I don't think it's what you call plastic surgery," Cody informed Jack as the group continue to gaze out at the ice sculpture, "Only Maryse would do something like that."

"Her nose – it looks nothing like it," Even Kelly had begun to find flaws, "That nose is much more – neatly shaped than anything else."

Just then, darkness emitted into the room and the dazzlingly lights glowed into the air. The music began to roll out. At the entrance, four young men would carry out – what looked to be a giant tray – but it didn't contain any food just a devious blonde dressed in a golden dress. Her blonde wavy hair flowed downwards and she could see every single party goers eyes staring directly at her. The jealously was in the air and she felt it and liked it. She was an attention getter and one who craves it. She leaves off it. As bad as it sounded, that was Maryse Ouellet for you.

"Here is your birthday girl – Maryse Ouellet!" Spoke the DJ, just as Maryse was getting inside

As the men continued to present her to the crowd, Maryse took to the microphone and would begin her introduction, "Thank you all for coming to spend my special day with me. Now, the gift table is over by the bar – remember, all gifts that were not on the gift list provided to all of you will be thrown away and will be banned from any other future Maryse Ouellet Parties," Her smile grew, in hopes that would not happen, "Let's get this party started!"

As the crowd began, Kelly felt a vibration in her purse. Looking at her nearest exit, Kelly walked out for a moment and looked into her purse to find a text message from Torrie. _Babysit tomorrow afternoon? Only till about 7 or 8. Johns got practice and I've got a meeting. Do you mind? _

She smiled. _No problem sis._

Just as she placed her phone into her purse and as her head traveled upwards, her eyes grew stone cold as she glimpsed at the being standing before her. Sweet blonde hair like hers, dark colored eyes and simply as beautiful as Kelly; there was only something special about this person. Their relationship – The woman was none other than Kendra Blank, Kelly's mother.

"Mom? What – what are you doing here?" Stunned to see her mother standing right before she'd close her eyes and open them, believing it wasn't true but she was real. She was right there, "What are you doing in Beverly Hills?"

"I came to visit you of course. I haven't seen you in over a year and I missed you," Kendra sincerely said as she came forward, pulling Kelly into a hug, "God, you're even more beautiful than the last time I saw you."

She still couldn't come to her senses that this was happening. Her mother, just suddenly reappearing and acting like nothing had happened between the two. Like their history was like a thing of the past and completely unimportant. Kelly didn't forget – Kelly couldn't forget.

"No – you just can't come back out of nowhere acting like nothing happened," Kelly pushed her mother away as she continued to pour her heart out, "That is not how it works. You never call, write or email – nothing. And when I call or try to reach out to you, I get nothing. I get your disgusting voicemail and that's all. It's been over a year and nows the time that you're reaching out to me. This isn't the way it works – this isn't how a mother and daughter are supposed to be."

"Kelly –"

"No," Kelly continued to back away from her mother, "Just don't – you can just leave me alone and that's it. Leave me alone and let me live my life – it's been so much better now that you were gone."

As Kelly left her mother, Kendra grew guilty – true, she wasn't there for her daughter then but now, she's changed and she had to show it.

* * *

Her eyes laid on the dance floor where countless people were dancing their night away with someone special and Nikki was not one of those people. She was just a little upset that she had to be alone through this. She missed the attention; being able to tell that person you love them and just having that feeling that not everyone can exactly have. It was something she missed and unfortunately there was no one here to do that with.

Releasing a sigh, the sudden appearance of rose appeared in front of her. Someone brought out the rose to her. Seeing where the hand was leading too, she frowned at the sight of Dolph Ziggler before her. She let out a eye roll before she'd begin questioning him, "What do you want?"

"I was hoping you'd accept this rose I got for you," Dolph sweetly answered, "And maybe a Dance with me? I'm actually a really good dancer. I can blow you away with my awesome and stellar moves."

"Dolph, I feel like you'll never learn. I'm not interested. I'm not fine being by myself and I don't need any company."

"Oh come on – we can dance and we can have some fun. Why won't you just give me a chance?"

"As sweet as the offer is, I think I'll pass."

"Please."

He begged a little bit but she nodded, "No, I'm not interested. If you'll excuse me – I'm going to go and down some alcohol down and maybe I'll get through this night.

She left him there on the dance floor and walked away. Dolph was left crush but his spirits remained intact – he was going to get Nikki Bella, even if it took him forever. He just knew he needed to have the perfect chance with Nikki.

* * *

This day couldn't be more amazing than it was right at this moment.

The night had gone well planned as she wanted it to be. The champagne was delicious. The music couldn't have been more perfect. The party had been secure – no completely random break ins. The party was just completely perfect.

The party was coming to a slow end and now Miz was off to get their car, where the two would continue the party elsewhere – in a special suite the Miz had gotten for Maryse and himself. For now, Maryse was getting a little fresh air, enjoying the sweet view of the ocean and hearing the gentle waves brushing up against the shore. It was simply beautiful.

As the wind came crawling in, Maryse wrapped her arms around her body creating some warmth and she gazed out onto the sea, wondering about how her life was in a perfect moment and nothing could ruin it. Life was simply perfect for the girl who blew out 17 candles only a short time ago.

Not too far in the distance, Maryse could see a couple walking down the beach, hand in hand. She smiled. Watching love blossom was amazing and in this instance, it was beautiful in such a romantic setting. Just as the couple was coming closer and closer to Maryse, it was then she realized who the couple was.

Eve Torres and Ted DiBiase.

The two continued to walk down the beach, eventually kissing one another and that was enough to send Maryse's heart over the edge, shattering into pieces. Witnessing Ted moving on with Eve completely broke her heart. But why? She was with The Miz and she was over Ted – why was she feeling like this? She and Ted were done but yet she felt horrible watching this entire mess. It didn't make any sense.

Maryse leaned up against the wall and continued to glare. Her heart was breaking at every passing second of watching this. She couldn't bare it any longer and quickly escaped it – she didn't want the pain anymore. The feelings from that night not long ago came rushing back and the image of the two kissing was the only thing she could see but Maryse wasn't able to control this – she couldn't control the past and she couldn't control the future and most important of all – she can't control her heart.

* * *

**A/N:** Completed. Chapter 30, such a long way i've come. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed.  
A bit of a filler chapter and a bit of writer's block - i don't know but hopefully next chapter will be better.  
Thanks to all that reviewed and please review! :)  
Take care xx

_Next Chapter - A Maryse, Eve & Ted confrontation and Kelly tries to rebuild her relationship with her mother.  
_


	31. Infliction

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty _One - Infliction

Everyone dreaded Monday mornings. It's the day of the week where you get off the weekend mode and have to transition to school mode when you really don't need it. You'd need a cup of coffee to give yourself that extra boost and Maryse desperately needed it, seeing as she's already late for her class. Normally, she'd panic – not today, it was certainly the last thing on her mind at the moment.

The halls were vacant. Not a single noise was made except for the sound of Maryse's boots hitting the surface of the hallway. Her blonde hair gently rose with every step she'd make and the only entity trapped in her mind was the image of Ted and Eve from a couple of nights ago. There kiss, there presence with one another and how wonderfully they had been getting along. She couldn't lie to herself saying she had placed Ted in the past when that certainly wasn't the case. He was clearly etched in her mind – she thought she could lie and get past it but that couldn't happen. She tricked herself into believing a lie.

Though she was in a healthy relationship with Mike – or the Miz, as he is called – he certainly wasn't making her feel the way Ted did. Mike was a wonderful guy, she couldn't lie about that. The time she was spending with him was marvelous. He'd open the door for her when they'd go to a restaurant, he'd surprise her and bring her flowers, Lilies to be exact being as they were her favorites and send a text every night with the words _good night_ and _I love you_. In all, he was a great guy but why was she with him when she wasn't head over heels like she was with Ted? Nothing was making sense for her.

If everything had gone her way, she'd be right now with Ted, holding his hand or being wrapped up in his arms but she wasn't. She was alone even though she had someone, she was upset even though she didn't have a reason and she was in love but was with the wrong guy. Did any of this make the slightest sense to her?

As Maryse was about to turn the corner of the hallway, she'd come to a complete stand still as she found a couple coming her way. His arm collapsed over hers and she'd hang onto his hand which rested on her shoulder. They giggled, they smiled, they laughed – they were Eve and Ted and the two were coming directly toward Maryse. Once they had token the focus off one another, they drastically slowed down when they spotted Maryse.

Eve was doing a marvelous job avoiding Maryse for the past months – going as far as getting her locker moved to the opposite side of school and clearing her schedule, making sure they wouldn't run into one another.

Ted had just been lucky – even with Maryse on the cheerleading squad and the football team tends to hang out a lot with the cheerleaders but he hadn't really run into Maryse.

An awkward stare was given and received from them all – it had suddenly gotten even quieter than it was before, and that was quiet. Maryse grew nervous as she faced the two – and for her to get nervous took a lot but somehow she was the one who seemed weak.

Eve stood there and she could feel that she was getting powerful. With a look through Maryse's eyes, she could see how weak she looked. Eve had received the upper hand in the case, something she hadn't received in her little war with Maryse. Slowly, she'd smirk right in front of the blonde and pulled herself to get closer to Ted than before. Seeing this, the most powerful girl in school felt like she was being knocked off her highchair.

Eve cockily muttered out, "Oh hey Maryse – how have you been?"

"Hi Eve," Maryse looked over to Ted, sending a nod, "Hi Ted."

"Oh I don't know if you have heard but – Me and Ted, yeah we're kind of dating. We're an item and let me tell you, I completely knew what you were talking about when you would tell me all about him," It was time for revenge – Eve waited for so long to give Maryse what she deserved for the entire mess she created. It's time for Eve to have some fun, "Ted's just simply amazing – like, he's an awesome kisser, even better than the night we first kissed back in junior night – the one where you walked in right in front of us. You remember, don't you?"

Maryse lowered her face, not wanting to show Eve the pain she was feeling but to cover the scowl that had grown across her face. Any moment now, Maryse could feel the tears beginning to build up – a breakdown was in the process of occurring.

"Well, I hope you have a nice day – Ted and I, well we're off to do some things, if you know what I mean," The Latina let out a little giggle, "Well, I'll see you around Maryse – ta ta!" Eve pulled down on Ted's hand, leading him past the broken down blonde. Maryse would remain in position as Ted and Eve continued down the hallway.

Once far enough, Eve released a victory laugh – she finally felt that justice was being served and it took so long for it to happen – but better late than never? Turning to Ted, Eve brightened her smile, "Did you see her face? It was priceless that I could have token a picture. If I had taken a picture, maybe I would have kept it – you know, if I need a laugh or –"

"Shut up!"

The vulgar and violent tone came directly out of Ted's mouth, causing Eve to completely freeze. Ted sternly glared at the Latina, "How could say something like that to her? How could you have done that to her?"

"Ted – wake up and smell the coffee. She made my life a complete and utter mess. She embarrassed me and she sent out such a discrete photo of me to everyone in this school. Maryse turned my life into a complete hell. She deserved everything that's coming to her."

"But why'd you have to stoop down to her level?" Ted began to question her motives, being disgusted by her behavior, "Eve, this isn't like you. This isn't the girl who's my girlfriend. This is someone different and I don't really like her."

Ted pulled away from Eve and continued down the hall, leaving the brunette to remain alone. As Ted came to the corner, he stopped once he had reached the beginning where he found someone familiar.

Maryse sat down, lay against the lockers. Her head leaned against the lockers and the tears came flowing down her cheeks. She'd occasionally reach up to wipe the tears that were coming down. Ted felt horrible, witnessing the confident and strong blonde in a state of weakness.

His heart grew weak and guilt raced across his body. He continued to watch Maryse and he could only think about how she was feeling right now and he couldn't feel responsible for a part of this. In fact, things would have been a lot more different if he didn't do something so stupid, everything would be much normal.

* * *

Remaining in his empty classroom, AJ dealt with a stack of tests that needed some graded. Being a teacher, it came with its ups and downs. He enjoyed teaching – unlike some other people, he enjoyed waking up in the morning and getting the chance to teach to these kids but of course, he hated doing the paperwork – including tests and reports. He even hated it when so much was on his mind.

Christy and his son, the one he was just told he has named Sammy.

_How could she have kept him from me? How could she have lied about this for so long? _AJ remained at a road block. For two years, he has had a son walking around the world and not a word of this was told to him until recently. He couldn't understand why she would do something like this? And now what was he supposed to do, continue life as if nothing had happened and nothing was wrong.

He didn't know how to handle the situation but he was ready for something. It took this long but he wants to meet his son. It's his son after all and he has every right to see him. But how would Sammy react to finding out his father, two years after he was born? Or even more important, how does he be a father if he lives all the way up in northern California? How was all of this supposed to work.

He would have to find a way, which brought him to his phone, dialing the number that had belonged to Christy. After a few rings, he only received her voicemail.

_Hi, it's Christy – can't get to the phone right now. Please leave a message._

"Christy, its AJ. Listen, I know our little dinner didn't go very well but I can't ever speak to you, especially if I want to be able to see my son. So I'd like to come up to San Francisco so I can finally meet him. Just give me a call back so we can arrange this whole thing. Just give me a call back whenever you can, I'm out of work by three this week so call me back…"

After ending his call, AJ could only image how his son may look like. Would he have his features like his nose or maybe would he have Christy's eyes? He couldn't carry the fib any longer, he was looking forward to this – to being a father.

* * *

Life had finally seemed to be turning around for Tiffany. Acceptance; she felt it. Finally, after so long she had finally acquired some strength – and most importantly a friend in Eve Torres, a girl who is in her position as well.

Sitting at the outside lunch table, Tiffany caught up on some reading for school. The wind was blowing that afternoon, gently bringing her hair up into the air as her eyes traced the lines of the book she was reading. Her mind was preoccupied and any thought of any other problem she had was currently pushed to the side.

Luckily, she had been able to avoid Layla and any of her friends and most certainly Jack – who she was most upset with. He used it, point blank. She was the little puppet in his corner being played with like she was a little rag doll. Most important of all had to be the feelings that she had grown for him being tossed around and eventually shattered when he participated in the little prank at his house party one evening. When she finally thought she had found a friend and someone she could depend on, he turns around and backstabs her just like that – eliminating any form of friendship the either had.

Now she had moved past that but would certainly watch her back now – keep her eyes open because being picked on – or a better term, bullied – isn't a way of life to live by. It's only a devastating one.

As she continued reading her book, the pages suddenly got much darker when a shadow came creeping over and remained over her book. Turning up, she could see the four individuals responsible for the shadow – Layla, Maxine, Alicia and Rosa.

"Hey Tiffany!" The greeting was greatly overacted, as it was obvious that Layla didn't like a bone in Tiffany's body, "What are you reading here? Some tacky book on how to make your appearance better? I could have told you that – ditch that ugly skirt and wear some jeans honey but I bet they'd make your ass looks huge."

Tiffany looked upwards and asked, "Could you just leave me alone? I get it, you don't like me."

"Aw," Layla turned to Rosa and the rest of the girls and frowned, similar to a puppy dog face, "Rosa, poor little Tiffany doesn't think I like her – how could she think that? It's actually that I hate you – I need a much stronger word to describe it. Don't like isn't a well enough word to describe my feelings for you."

Tiffany released an eye roll and stood up, in front of Layla. She was sick of it all – it had to stop. Coming close into Layla's face, Tiffany slowly threatened, "Listen, just leave me alone. I never did anything to you so back off," And Tiffany pushed Layla, off to the side into Alicia.

Once getting back into a proper stance, Layla watched on really surprised, "Did she push me? Did you just push me? How dare you touch me with your filthy southern hands? Ugh, I'm going to need a shower to now to rid myself of this stink."

Tiffany's glare grew stronger and she'd turn her back on the four and once she turned back, Rosa and Alicia each grabbed her by an arm and Maxine held her body down and that's when Tiffany began to struggle, "What? Get off me!"

"Get her Lay!" Alicia cheered on, handing her a black permanent marker, "Get it over with – inscribe n her forehead what she really is."

Layla's smirk grew much larger and devious as she opened up the cap of the black marker. Tiffany continued to struggle and try to escape their grip but nothing was working, "You're mine now Tif – I'm just going to label you for what you really are," And Layla continued, she'd slowly write out the letters W-H-O-R-E right onto Tiffany's forehead, "And I'm done. Tiffany is official labeled for what's she really is – nothing but one southern whore!"

Once she had been released, she fell to the floor as Rosa pushed her down with her foot and once she'd get up, she'd be greeted with laughter, just like other times. The four women exploded into a fit of laughter as did some others. Tiffany's eyes teared up, after being so use to having tears pour out of them and she held onto her forehead, covering the word written above her head.

She ran off but could still hear the laughter. _Why me? What did I do to deserve all of this? I want to leave, I wanna go back home where I belong. _As she continued to run off, she'd pump into someone who is clearly responsible for this all. Jack Swagger. He'd watch Tiffany run off into the woman's bathroom and not planning to come out so he continued down the hallway as if nothing ever happened.

Once into the bathroom, she stared into the mirror seeing the large bold letters sticking out of her forehead. She'd take some water, splashing it against her forehead hoping it would come out but nothing was working. The ink was strong and it would require time and patience to finally get this entire thing off her head. For a moment, she leaned up against the sink and just began to break down once again. What made her deserve this? She never meant to hurt anybody and now was left to fend all by herself.

The door to the women's bathroom opened up and when Tiffany turned around, she was happy to see Eve standing at the door. Eve came forward, shocked at the words written on Tiffany's head and quickly came forward to Tiffany, offering a hug and taking her into her arms, "Oh my god, Honey – who did this to you? Was it Layla and all of them? Was it Jack?"

Tiffany couldn't control her sobs and just began to confess everything to Eve, "I want to go back home. I don't want to be here anymore. I don't even know what I did to deserve this to happen to me. Why me? Eve, why me?"

Eve didn't have any answers and could only provide Tiffany with reassuring words to keep her faith strong that this would get better one day, "Tiff, it's going get better – I promise I won't let them bother you again."

* * *

As much as she didn't want to be there, Kelly remained seated at the bar in the Beverly Hills Beach Club, waiting for her mother's arrival where the two could speak to one another on a more private basis.

Just last week, Kelly's Mother – Kendra Blank – mad a return back into her life. Kendra had been living out in Las Vegas, while Kelly would live with her dad and step mother right in Beverly Hills. Their history was a complicated one that would stem back deep into the past, when she was just a pre-teen. She was sent to Beverly Hills to finally meet her father and after a few months later, it had been decided she would stay in Beverly Hills on more of a permanent basis, living with her dad. Kendra had flocked off to nearby Las Vegas, working as a bartender at one of the many casinos. They had grown farther and farther apart. The monthly visit had went from once a month, to one every six months and ultimately one a year, right around the holidays.

Of course, Kelly's mother has had a complicated life over time and now she had apparently changed. Kelly found it extremely hard to believe. Kelly didn't want to give her a chance to explain herself – she really didn't but she knew herself that everyone deserves a chance and she had to give it to her mother, to at least explain herself.

Kendra would soon come into the Beverly Hills Beach Club with an elusive smile that brightened up the room. She'd take the seat before Kelly, who didn't seem to happy, "I'm really happy you decided to come and meet with me. I didn't think you'd make it."

"I almost didn't," Kelly admitted, "But I came here to give you a chance and I think everyone deserves a fair chance."

Kendra smiled. She dearly wanted her daughter to know that she isn't the same old woman she was before but a more improved, "Well, I guess I can tell you I am leaving Vegas and I'm coming to live here – I found this great place right off Melrose and it had two bedrooms, so that means you can come over sometimes and maybe stay over."

Kelly looked at her, a little bit shocked, "You're moving here? Why are you leaving Vegas?"

"Well, I was getting sick of the place and they were firing a lot of employers and I might have been on the chopping block and plus, I found a job right here too. I want to be closer to you, so we can have our time together. The apartment, it isn't fancy but it will do. It doesn't have a swimming pool like your Dad's but it has a fountain at the entrance."

A little laugh cracked out of Kelly but she didn't want to imply her mother was going to get an easy slide through. Kelly's goal was to determine if her mother really cared about her, "I guess that sounds pretty cool."

Their relationship had been really scattered as of lately and wasn't a typical mother/daughter relationship and Kendra was a changed woman and wanted to make it better with her mother, "Kel, I'm not pulling any jokes. I'm being honest here. I'm changing my life, I'm changing. I want to have a real relationship with you. I want to be a part of your life and if you're willing to let me, I'll be the mother you always wanted. What's happened in the past is the past and I want to work on reconnecting with you. Will you give me that chance to do that?"

Her mother's words seemed very genuine and truthful. Maybe she should give her a chance? It looks likes she had changed but looks can be deceiving. Could she trust her mother that she wouldn't make the same mistake twice? But this whole get together was to give her a second chance and Kelly had to – it was her mother after all, "I'll give you a chance and I did miss you a lot."

A sweet smile appeared across her lips, hearing the answer she wanted to hear. Her hands extended forward, giving her daughter a friendly hug and as she pulled away, she expressed her happiness, "I'm so happy. Now, I should probably let you in on a little secret I've been keeping from you. I hope you won't be upset that I didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?"

The new piece of information she'd receive would be really life changing, not only for her mother but for Kelly. Kendra continued to smile and ultimately raised her hand, showing her newest accessory on her finger – an engagement ring, "Kelly, I'm in engaged."

Kelly's eyes dilated and her face painted a more shocked expression. Her mother engaged? It was rather shocking to see her mother getting married. She would have a new dad, "Oh my god, your engaged? To who?"

"His name is Michael and he's a restaurant manager for a place in Hollywood, that's where I got my job as a bartender. We met back in Vegas and he's been such a great guy. We've been together for a week and he popped the question to me a few weeks ago and now, I'm in the middle of planning a February wedding!"

Something was telling Kelly that this wedding wasn't a good idea – some deep feeling but she had to give this a chance. That's what she told herself when she came here. It was time to give everything a chance, "Wow, so early. Am I going to meet this guy?"

"Yes, you'll meet him really soon and the news only gets better," Kendra continued to grow excited as she revealed the next part in her plans, "I'd love it if you'd be my maid of honor."

And probably the most shocking one of them all was the final one – the selection of being her mother's maid of honor was by far the most shocking revelation to her. It was such a high honor and even though her mother had just return into her life, she still picked her, "You want me to be the maid of honor?"

"Yes, I want you. You can now help me plan the wedding and all. We're thinking of a wedding on the beach –"

And as Kendra babbled on, Kelly began to feel the distance between the two begin to close up but a part of her was still feeling weird about her mother getting married – this guy sounded a little weird to her and once she meets him, she can get a honest look at him instead of judging the unknown.

* * *

Class never felt longer than today's class and to hear the sound of the faithful bell ringing through her ears, her torment had come to an end. Rising from her seat, where she'd been placed in torture for the past hour, it was a relief to see the hallways. Hugging onto her books that morning, she roamed the hallway and was content at the moment.

That would all be ruined once one man would make his presence – Dolph Ziggler.

Coming up directly up to her side, he smirked and said, "Nikki, you seem really happy."

An eye roll was thrown out from Nikki. She couldn't understand it – she did so much to push the man away but he'd always keep crawling back no matter what. Was it that difficult for him to accept that fact that she wasn't interested? Why did he continue on when her obvious reaction to it wasn't very accepting of it? Attempt after attempt and the same thing would happen in the end but Dolph didn't take it as anything. It more or less just encouraged him to go further on his quest to 'woo' Nikki Bella.

Sure, the signs weren't really good but he still felt a chance. His chances were slim of ever getting a chance with Nikki but he would continue to fight for her. He couldn't explain it. Something about Nikki just drove him crazy – even with him turning him down constantly, he actually attracted him further, not the opposite way. He liked the challenge – he couldn't lie. It was like a game of cat and mouse, Dolph being the cat and he'd eventually get the mouse.

"Why can't someone be happy?" One of the Bella twins asked, "Is it a crime to smile?"

"It's certainly a crime for you to look that smokin' hot," Flashing a wink down at her, she could have sworn she threw up in her mouth just a little bit at his little confession, "So I'm dying to know when you'll be ready for the date I'll be taking you on. The invitation is open."

Laughter emitted out of her mouth, "Dolph, what date? There isn't going to be any date so I don't see what you are talking about?"

"Nikki, I see how you look at me. I see when you stare at me and everything – it's okay, a lot of girls fall for the Ziggler's charm and it's nothing to be ashamed off. So how does Friday night sound? We can head to the beach club, I'll take you to dinner and maybe after we can take a walk on the beach? How does that sound?"

_He's really serious? I guess I should do the same. _This is where Nikki stopped Dolph and you could see the smile on his face growing and growing, but that would slowly dissipate after what Nikki is about to reveal.

"Dolph, I can't take this any longer. I don't like how you've been bombarding with all of this. I get that you may have a little crush on me but nothing is going to happen. I do not like you; in fact, I find this more annoying than anything. I do not like you, there is no chance in hell that I am going to ever go out with you. Give this up because your only hurting yourself."

When she spoke, she was serious and vulgar. Dolph stood back, a little shaken by Nikki's confession but he still didn't want to give up – he still had his tiny shread of hope, "But Nikki –"

"No Dolph!" She violently interrupted, "I do not like you. You and I; it's never going to happen so you have to stop doing all of this. I don't have the slightest romantic feeling for you and I want you to stop. We will never happen."

As Nikki turned back, she felt confident in what she said would finally rid Dolph of bothering her ever again. Once she had begun to walk down the hallway, she confidently smirked, feeling that this was over with. Hopefully after this, no more Dolph.

Dolph had finally felt defeated for the first time in his life. He remained there in a cold stance, not moving an inch and still taking in the words Nikki had just said. He finally understood – Nikki wanted nothing to do with him and it was certainly difficult to take in. His hopes had been completely shattered. Thinking Nikki was just acting or putting up a fence was all a simply thought he put in his mind to let himself continue on when in reality nothing was really going to happen. It was finally restated to him just now.

The students continued to disappear from the hallway and Dolph remained, leaning up against the locker. For once, he thought he was going to get the girl of his dreams only for that same girl to shatter the dreams of ever being with her. Dolph was now a lost soul, roaming the hallways of West Beverly.

* * *

For once in his time at West Beverly, Ted actually sat down doing his homework. Shocker indeed, no one expected Ted to be this dedicated to his work. Since college is around the corner and he had to make something out of himself by actually applying himself and trying his best to get into California University.

Through it all, he couldn't get some things out of his head – one being Maryse. The stance he witnessed her in was sad. The ever so strong blonde had never looked so weak until yesterday and he felt bad but why? He was over her – or was he really over her? Was he just trying to tell himself that he couldn't be with her? Though Eve was in his life, a part of him felt empty and was taken away the day that night a few months ago.

Over the course of those months, he had garnered feelings for Maryse and felt as if she was the one for him and after that one night, he couldn't just throw all of that away. You obviously can't go and toss your feelings out and continue on as nothing had ever happened. Life doesn't work that way.

He felt the sound of footsteps coming before him and when he'd look up, he see the sweet face that belonged to Eve Torres standing right before him, "Is this seat taken?"

Moving his books off, he said "Not at all."

Seating beside him, she turn over to him and look directly into his eyes, "I want to apologize to you. What I did yesterday, it wasn't right. I don't know what I was thinking but it's just that anger that I felt came rushing out and it came out all like that. I'm not a horrible person like that. I actually have a soul. It's just our history is what bothers me. Like you said, I stooped down to a level I shouldn't have and I acted like a child. I'd be embarrassed of that was my girlfriend doing that. I hope that somehow or somewhere you can forgive me and work past it. I missed talking to you, even if it was for a day."

He could see the Eve he fell for in the first place, sitting right beside him. He smiled and came forward, placing a kiss on her lips. Once pulling away, he'd caress her cheek gently, "And I think I should apologize. I kind of took her side in this all but I hope we can look past this both and we can just focus on us and put this in the past."

It's all she wanted to hear and with that, she placed a kiss directly onto his lips and said, "That's all I wanted to hear."

Eve pulled Ted into a hug, resting her head onto his shoulder and Ted would go on to say, "It felt weird not talking to you at night – it's something I do every night and when I didn't do it last night, it felt incredibly weird."

"I know!" Agreed Eve, "We'll make up for it tonight."

As Ted and Eve continued their embrace, Ted's eyes came into contact with another set of eyes watching the two of them in their embrace. At the entrance to the courtyard, Maryse watched the two and soon their eyes would meet directly. Maryse could see how happy the two were and wonder that it could have been her in Ted's arms.

Ted watched on, seeing that Maryse looked emotionally hurt as she looked at the two of them. His lips curved into a worried expression looking down at Maryse. It was then that Maryse had discovered something.

She was still in love with him.

* * *

"– I don't get it. Why in the hell am I feeling like this?"

That's the question that was crawling in Kelly's mind, as she was speaking to Cody about the situation she was in involving her mother and sudden announcement of her engagement to a man she hadn't met just yet. She found it wonderful that her mother would be moving in Los Angeles, so that she could finally have a relationship with her she wanted. But this unexpected engagement has gotten her a little – iffy, to put it that way. This was all just sudden and didn't really work well, especially with the feeling that she didn't really trust this man that her mother would be marrying, without even meeting him but just by knowing his name.

"I don't know why you're feeling like this. You haven't even met the guy and your already passing judgment. Once you meet him, then we can pass judgment for save it. I don't get why you're getting so worked up about this."

She didn't like his response and quickly turned to him, "You can't just say it like that – I mean, if this was your mother or father getting married and you didn't meet this person, how'd you react? I'm worried and a little concerned, is there a crime that I can't feel this way?"

"I'm just saying you shouldn't get so work up over this. It's not the biggest deal in the world.

_This isn't a big deal? _Now Kelly was just getting a little upset with Cody for not trying to be supportive. He couldn't see where she was coming from and quickly shot down any opinions was she was having because it didn't seem right. Cody wasn't making much sense to her now, neither was his attitude on all of this. What began to bother her a little more was that he didn't seem to care as much but why would she want that in a guy she'd like to be with – he wasn't being the good listener he used to be.

"Also, what are we going to do with Evan? When do you plan on telling him about us?" Cody grew concerned when Kelly told him she wasn't ready to tell Evan, fearing it may hurt him, "It's been over a month and I feel like we should decide on something already."

"I will –"

"But when? I will isn't always going to cut it," Rising from the couch, where the two were sitting in the media's club room, "I've got practice so I'll see you after I guess."

"Yeah…"

She didn't seem to really care, hoping he'd get a picture from all of this but he just walked out and acted like she wasn't upset or anything. It annoyed her and disturbed her on how he was acting about this all. He wasn't being supportive nor caring – was this what she wanted in a guy? Not exactly.

Soon after Cody's departure, Evan would come rolling in with the copy of the freshly printed newspaper in his hand. A smile was given to the sweet blonde as he took a seat beside her, "Hey look! I got the fresh copy of this week's paper. Your article on the school's push to have a sushi bar is actually in here – front page as well, courtesy of your favorite newspaper editor."

"Oh, good…"

Evan could look at Kelly and based on her tone, she wasn't too happy at the moment and that's when he proposed a question, "I know you well enough that something is bothering you – what's the matter?"

_Someone seems to care. _Kelly rested her head on Evan's shoulder and began to speak, "Okay, I told you my mom is marrying this guy that I haven't met. I don't know, I just get a vibe from this all that it isn't a good idea and that this guy, that's something fishy about him. I haven't even met him yet and I'm already getting worried about him – I don't even know why and it doesn't make sense. Why am I feeling this way?"

"Well, I get how it's weird – seeing your mom marrying another guy, I'd be a little freaked out myself but I say you arrange to meet him with your mind. I think your just getting these vibes because it's weird that your mom is just getting married but you should meet the guy and get a real idea on how he's like."

Evan's idea made sense but what she cared about the most was that he was actually being caring and supportive like she would want any guy to be. There's a reason she was with Evan – she was a lot of what she wanted but now, that brings her to Cody. This mess she was in was only digging the hole deeper and deeper and leading her nowhere – she was back at square one – who does she want?

"I'm so lucky I've got you. I swear, sometimes I ask myself where I'd be without you."

"Trust me Kel, no matter what I am not going anywhere. You know I'll always be there for you," Evan grasped her hand and landed a kiss onto her forehead. He honestly believed he was the luckiest man in the world.

* * *

Her mother appeared at the bathroom's door, releasing a knock on the door to let her daughter know that dinner was ready, "Tiffany, dinners on the table. Come out before it gets cold."

"Just a minute mom, I'm fixing the bathroom up."

Releasing an understanding nod, her mother left and headed downstairs as Tiffany remained looking at the mirror. Her makeup had been ruined due to the tears she had released. She couldn't have gone to school today, not after yesterday's little prank. She couldn't deal with all of that. It was just way too much for her to deal with. The word 'whore' was almost completely gone with only a little bit left but that was thanks to Eve, who had helped try to rid her forehead of that horrible word written across her head that was clearly a lie. Every time she'd look in the mirror she could picture Layla just writing it again and again. It brought her to tears.

She couldn't explain why this was happening to her. She didn't deserve it because she never did anything to deserve it. She was just being herself and was being punished for it. Where was the sense in all of that? She just had regrets now; regrets of ever moving to this city, going to West Beverly and ever meeting Layla or any of the girls. She felt the regret and she could only feel the pain traveling her body.

Eve would tell her, it would be okay but when? When was everything going to get better because Tiffany wasn't seeing any of it. This end was nowhere to be found – for all she knew, this was just the beginning.

How could she solve this? Transferring to another school? But her parents wouldn't let her and only question why she wanted to leave but she couldn't find the strength to tell them the truth. It was clearly to embarrassing and humiliating to explain.

She couldn't find a way to deal with the pain but she'd eventually find a way – through her medicine cabinet.

Opening the cabinet, she took out that basket were the nail files were located and in the midst of the pile of them, she found what she was looking for – a razor blade.

Taking the razor blade, she raised the blade up staring at it and thought this through. Was this the way to get through the pain? Inflicting pain on herself was the way to get through this? She'd have to try and see if it would really work.

Placing the blade against her wrist, she took a deep breath and dug the blade into her skin. She'd quietly scream out as the blade traveled across her skin, leaving a cut that the blood with sip out of. Dropping the blade into the sink, as the blood from her wrist began to sip out – Tiffany quickly took a paper towel, covering the scar she had created. Her body told her that this was painful but her mind was explaining to her that this was releasing the pain – when in reality it wasn't doing anything but creating more.

* * *

**A/N:** A fast update? Don't know why but received this sudden push to write - weird, i know.  
Right now, we're at the halfway point of the story so do the math and figure out how much is left :)  
Tiffany's part was a little gruesome - sorry if anyone gets offended but i wanted to do something with her getting bullied since all of a sudden, there's been so much news reports on bullying.  
Please Review! xx =)

_Next Chapter - Nikki begins to feel remorse for Dolph and Maryse questions her relationship with Miz  
_


	32. The One that Got Away

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty Two_ - The One that Got Away

As the clock's hand turned onto the eleven, Nikki knew it was getting late but yet she didn't want to move. She was so content – and most of all – at peace. Not a sound had disturbed her, keeping her mind relaxed as well as her body. The gentle breeze came off the ocean, blowing her hair upwards as she lay on the lawn chair which was positioned directly in front of the crashing waves. Her attempt to study was a failure, one her mind came through a peaceful trance.

Life was well. She couldn't complain.

Though she could begin complaining about the obnoxious noise coming through the cabana to her left and of course everything was ruined. It took her so much to sit there, taking the incredible noise but it wasn't until it was getting louder and louder that she couldn't take it any longer.

On to her feet, Nikki trailed over to the side of the cabana to find two men, both whom she knew and were fellow classmates – Dolph and Cody. Visibly, Dolph seemed upset about something while Cody played the role of being a good friend, one he is very good at. Dolph remained seated and Nikki kept herself concealed, as she listened in on it all.

"I can't believe it dude – all of this for what? To be shot down, to have my heart completely ripped out of my chest. I'm such an idiot."

Nikki listened carefully as Dolph would continue onward, "I don't get it man. I really thought she was into me and I was really falling for her. I thought maybe this was just a wall placed up but it wasn't. She really doesn't like me nor wants anything to do with me. Why do I always go with the wrong girl every time? I don't understand it man."

"I know how much you liked her. I'd feel the same way if a girl didn't feel the way I did for her. At least this was put on the table and now you can begin to move on and maybe find someone else. Girls would kill for you. I saw you back in Sophomore year taking a girl out every night. Maybe you should be the old Dolph, you once were."

"The thing is, I don't want to be the old Dolph," Confessed the blonde individual as he came up to his feet, "All I wanted was to be with Nikki. I never saw a girl like her that was so beautiful, so charming and just so, amazing. She was perfect Cody, the ultimate package and I completed lost it. And I'm an idiot for not listening to you guys – you'd always say she was blowing me off and pushing me away but I kept on pushing. It's my own fault that I am like this and I should have listen. What was I thinking?"

An offering of his hand came over – as a sign of support – gently brushed his shoulder, "You were just thinking from your heart, not your brain. Love, it does some crazy things to you, trust me and I know what it's like but it doesn't stop me from moving on and looking past this all. You'll get over this all, it's just going to take some time."

"I don't know man –"

"Listen, let's head out tonight. I'll call up Ted, Jack and Evan and we'll hit up a bar down on Sunset and grab us a few drinks – maybe you'll find a lucky lady in the crowd and it will get your mind off of this all, What do you say?" He went on to speak, "It'll be fun."

"Cody, I don't think it's such a good idea."

"I'm buying," He used his last attempt to get the man to come and it seemed to begin to work, "And what are you going to do when you get home? Browse the internet and arouse yourself for the evening?"

Dolph scowled, "No man, no. I'll come out. I'll just get really drunk, a few beers sounds really good right now."

The two individuals exited the cabana and Nikki remained – her heart was breaking.

The emotional rollercoaster she put the man through, he true divine feelings were finally released and the twin saw a much different side to Dolph – a softer and sweeter one – that she wasn't too particular in always seeing herself. The front Dolph would put up seemed to be a character or disguise, concealing him from the world. All he wanted was for someone to love and for someone to love him back and it was obvious he had seen it in her but she wasn't interested.

It was certainly a surprise to see Dolph like this – so hung up on a girl. Nikki's immediate though on Dolph was just another womanizing, self-centered player but he really wasn't. There was a side to him that seemed a lot more appealing than meets the eye and it took a moment like this for her to realize it.

With the guilt consuming her body, she discovered the mistake she had made. If she had given Dolph the chance he deserved, none of this would have happened but this image she had locked in her brain was keeping her from getting to know him. She was so stubborn and couldn't have seen that he was a good person and he had a good heart.

Nikki's selfish views weren't leading her nowhere, especially the fact with her heart thumping at the thought of Dolph Ziggler etched in her mind. The tables had begun to turn and would not work in her favor.

* * *

Apartment 5A – The letter and number written against the brown door. AJ had finally arrived in the city by the bay, also known as the city of San Francisco.

The first flight out that evening, AJ was off to discover what had been kept from him for so long. A son. He hadn't received a picture nor any details on the description of his son and was waiting for the surprise. Would he have his eyes? Would he have his nose? Would he be just like him?

It was only a knock away.

Knocking before the wooden door, he felt the pressure emerging and could only wonder how this would go. Would it go smoothly or would go terribly? So many thoughts rambled through his mind and he could only hope that this would go well.

As the door opened, he wasn't greeted by Christy nor a two year old child but a much older man. Blonde hair, a five o'clock shadow and an awkward smile was presented to AJ. He remained still and confused unaware of the situation and assuming he had knocked on the wrong door.

"My apologies, I must have knocked on the wrong door. I was looking for Christy Hemme's apartment."

The man released a chuckle, "You're in the right place my friend," The man offered his hand forward to shake, "I'm Christian Reso, Christy's boyfriend and you must be AJ, right? It's really nice to meet you."

_Boyfriend? What the hell is going on? _He smiled, very fake actually and was trying to digest the thought of what the hell was going on. Christy was seeing someone? It came as a shock but he wanted some details, "Well it's nice to meet you and I didn't know Christy was dating someone. She hadn't mentioned anything about that to me. How long have the two of you been together?"

"It's been a year. I actually helped her get the place up here a while back."

"Is that him?"

The voice chimed from the background and forward came Christy, trying to keep her smile straight and thrilled to finally see him to show up. The smile glowed across her face and she came forward, surprising AJ with an embrace, "So happy you came AJ! I was thinking you weren't going to show up but you did. You don't know how happy this makes me. Come in!"

AJ was pulled in by Christy as AJ took in AJ's duffel bag that was resting outside the door. As he shut the door, Christy pulled him into the living room and left in right in the center, "You've got a nice apartment. I can almost see the Golden Gate Bridge from here," His eyes traveled toward the window, seeing the huge structure, "It's a nice city."

"Better than Los Angeles's traffic, smog and heat. San Francisco is such a more peaceful area."

"I agree – I was so happy when I got to leave L.A ten years ago. I couldn't take it anymore," Christian agreed with Christy, placing AJ's bag onto the couch, "I don't know how you deal with it man."

Christy continued to smile. She was content – finally, her son was going to meet her father who should always be an important figure in her son's life. This moment was a constant dream of hers, "So are you ready? He's in the other room and I'd like to bring him out to you if you'd like?"

AJ nodded slowly, "Yeah, bring him out."

This was it. Christy traveled into the room to recover her soon and AJ waited patiently in the room. He was getting nervous, a little bit of perspiration appeared and he could feel himself shaking a little bit. This was a monumentally moment for him – he could finally meet the son he wishes to father.

Out came Christy, holding a young boy's hand. In his pajamas, the child grew nervous and worried – it could be seen right in his eyes. Christy was dragging him a bit but was cooperating for the time being. He could see his light colored hair and he looked a lot like AJ – almost identical to how AJ looked as a child. He was shy as well but Christy pushed him a little forward and that's when AJ got down to his knees, to his son's level while Christy did the same.

"Sammy, I want you to meet someone really special. This is Daddy," Christy introduced, "Do you want to give Daddy a hug?"

"It's nice to meet you, Sammy."

The child was nervous and AJ offer his hand. Sammy quickly turned around, not agreeing to face the man that was his father. The man grew upset, feeling his wasn't being accepted by his son. Luckily, he worried that this may happen and reached into his bag, pulling out an old bear that seemed to have had its share of disaster. AJ offered the bear forward, "I brought this – this was mine when I was a little boy just like you."

Pulling away from his mother, the boy came forward accepting the bear into his hands. Once taking a hold of the bear, he smiled sweetly. Much to AJ's surprise, the boy came flying into his hands, embracing his father.

AJ finally felt the acceptance that he wanted. He'd slowly move his hands around and gently hold the boy in his arms. It was a moment like this where he felt his eyes appear more watery, eventually releasing a tear. He couldn't be happier as did Christy, he had finally came to her feet and watched on the reunion between a father and a son. It's all she wanted and was thrilled that this had finally happened – it took a long time but it had finally happened.

Christian and Christy continued to watch on as AJ Pulled Sammy into the air, holding him and listening to him giggle and that's when AJ made a promise, "I'm going to be here for you – I've missed a lot but I'm not missing anymore of this."

And the response to his promise was a simple smile.

* * *

_Once her eyes had gently awakened from her slumber, Maryse rose up slowly as the sound of an organ was playing not to fair away. Groggy and Dreary; best described her at the moment as she got onto her feet._

_At her door, she could see a bright light shining through the creeks and the sound of clapping emerging through her ears. What the hell was going on with her? A puzzled look was offered as the temptation rose. Ever so slowly, she'd begin to journey to the door and placing her hand at the knob. A part of her just thought this was a horrible idea but she continued on. Twisting the knob, her eyes were greeted with a bright light. She was blinded but what she was about to see, she would wish she could stay blind._

_There she stood, before what looks to be a small chapel and she was standing right at the beginning of the aisle. The room was filled; a mixture of people but she was surprised to see some sitting in the stands, including her friends Kelly and Nikki, who both couldn't stop smiling. Cody and Jack weren't far away and Evan and Dolph stood close by, observing the two bodies standing at the altar._

_The long brown locks were couldn't have been anybody else's but hers. The man across from her, looked widely content as he gazed into one another eyes, holding hands. With a blink of any eye, the two people were Eve and Ted. Eve dressed in a wide gown, fit for a queen and Ted in a clad suit, black and white and this could have only met one thing – the two were getting married and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her heart sunk, deep into her chest and was confused. They were only dating and in high school, how could they be getting married? Nothing made sense. _

_Maryse walked over to Kelly who remained seated and spoke to her, "What the hell is going on Kelly? We're at this wedding, Ted and Eve? They're getting married? Tell me this isn't happening."_

_Not knowing how to react to Maryse, Kelly simply giggled, "How can you not know this? You helped plan the wedding and picked her dress and the date – Maryse, did you drink something this morning because you aren't all there?"_

_Again, back to nothing making the slightest sense at all._

"_You may now kiss the bride!"_

_Onward the priest would announce to the crowd and soon, Ted would take Eve's cheek and pull her into a kiss which was greeted with the organ playing and the crowd beginning to clap, with some cheers here and there. The pair would soon make it down the aisle where they'd be greeted by Maryse, standing right by them with a confused look._

"_Maryse, hey!" Eve greeted, acting like their history was nothing, "I'm so thrilled to see your okay with Ted and I agreeing to marry one another. You're amazing, I hope you know that."_

"_No – No!" Maryse chattered into the air, "This can't be happen because, because," It was hard for her to roll off her tongue but she couldn't hold it in any longer, "Because I'm still in love with Ted and I haven't stop loving him."_

_Ted and Eve paused, taking in the words but Ted continued on, "Uh, Maryse – you told me that you didn't want anything to do with me and you didn't love me anymore. Sorry but I'm with Eve now and we're going to be really happy now. Now, if you'll excuse us – we've got a plane to catch, we're going to Hawaii for our honeymoon."_

_As the crowed continued to clap and cheer, the bride and groom headed for the exit and Maryse just began, "No! No, this can't be happening – no! Ted, I love you – please don't do this –"_

Her body shot up, taking in a gasp of air followed by some heavy breathing. Maryse quickly brought herself to her feet and into her bathroom, where she splashed some water on her cheeks and took a few deep breaths.

_What the hell is wrong with me? _Maryse thought to herself as she remained staring in her mirror. Her mind was a complete disaster zone. Her heart didn't know what it was feeling but there was only one person remaining in there she wanted to depart but he remained and she couldn't hide the fact she was still in love with Ted.

Taking a short breath of air, she turned the faucet off and went back into her bed with him only on her mind and if in her slumber, would she be greeted by another dream. She hoped not.

* * *

"Please Eve – just don't do that. I'm fine really!"

"You're not – you think I'm going to let those bitches just hurt you like this. They need to be warned and let it known that if they hurt you, they hurt me and I'm not always as sweet as I usually am. I'm doing this for your own good."

Surely, Eve's intention was a good one but Tiffany thought of the consequences of this all. The intention to confront Layla, Rosa, Alicia and Maxine was a good thing but this could blow up in Tiffany's face, not Eve's. Her body was on the line and she couldn't let Eve go ahead and do something like this. Tiffany's sleeves rolled up and she only would quickly push them down as she'd follow Eve through the maze of the hallway.

"I'm begging you Eve, I can't let you do this because it's just going to humiliate me even more than I already am. I'm asking you as a friend not to do anything – please."

Eve abruptly stopped and turned to face Tiffany, "But you can't let them continue this thinking this is right. You've got to fight fire with fire and once I'm done talking to them, they will not bother you again and I'm going to make sure of it. You're my friend and I'm going to help you no matter what."

And Eve turned back, continuing to walk out to the courtyard where the girls remained but Tiffany stood back, worrying this would all just blow up into her face. She couldn't do anything else – all was said and done.

As Eve entered the Courtyard, she could find the four girls just laughing away and enjoying themselves but Eve would come raining on their parade. As the girls continued on, Eve came forward and Layla was the first to stop laughing, soon followed by the others girls – one by one – and Layla's scowl grew.

"Oh what is that stench? Oh wait, Eve's here – that explains it all," Layla giggled, along with the ladies, "Honey, it's called deodorant and it's time to apply some of that. Those pits of your just reek."

Eve looked over and fake smiled, "Listen, I'm not here to listen to your annoying little voice and deal with your stupidity, nor any of these girls here. You're going to leave Tiffany alone, do I make myself clear? Don't talk to her, don't bother her just don't do anything to her or you're going to have to deal with me next time – do I make myself clear to you and your other idiots?"

Layla raised her hand up and placed a shock expression over her face. Her finger raised up as she was about to speak, "Aw, aren't you Tiffany's little messenger? That is so cute – it's so nice to see that Tif Tif has a little friend. Eve, there's nothing you can't do. I'm Layla El – I can do a lot more badly than you and you really shouldn't be pushing on my buttons or there will be some serve punishment – now, do I make myself clear?"

"Just leave her alone – end of discussion."

As Eve turned away, Layla and the girls only laughed and Eve quickly departed as she couldn't deal with it. Once back in the hallway, Tiffany had disappeared and there was only one individual in her pathway – Jack Swagger.

"Hey Eve."

He was also the bad guy, in this case of course. They had dated once before but she wasn't surprised to how low Jack had went – the actually prank on Tiffany truly devastated her and it was his fault. She wouldn't have been in a situation like that if it wasn't for him, "You leave Tiffany alone! I know what you did to her and that was so heartless of you. How could you hurt her like that? She's human being and you pull a prank out like that. Jack, have you no heart or soul? What were you thinking when you did something that? More importantly, how much of a pig could you be to do something like that just to sleep with Layla?"

Jack wasn't going to be accused but choose to defend himself, "Listen, I was just doing Layla a favor and I was getting a good thing out of this all. We all win in the case and don't but into my business – it has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me – I'm Tiffany's friend and when you hurt Tiffany, you hurt me. Just leave her alone and quick playing games. You played a game with me and where did that lead you. I'm warning you Jack because if you do one more thing to her, I'll make sure you pay."

As Eve charged off, it allowed Jack to think about what he was doing. It certainly wasn't right and he knew he was hurting Tiffany but was letting it continue and wasn't stopping it. What was the matter with him? He seemed nothing like him and now, he was feeling guilty. He was feeling guilty and couldn't imagine the pain he put Tiffany through.

He could only imagine the Hell she was enduring and it was his fault.

* * *

"I'm sorry."

Kelly's heard that line one too many times, if she was asked the question. Cody felt deeply guilty for not really listening to Kelly's previous problem, with her mother's new fiancé. He could tell by the cold looks she'd give him, the silent treatment and certainly not acting like she' use too.

"I'm really sorry – I just wasn't thinking straight about anything and I should have been more supportive of you. Please find it to forgive me."

With his finally plead; Kelly's smile elevated finally hearing what she wanted. In response to his apology, she placed a peck onto his lips as a sign of forgiveness, "You're forgiven."

He smiled and came in for another kiss. This time, he backed Kelly up against the wall of the classroom and took full control. His lips never left hers as his hands roamed her delicately sculpted body and sweet blonde hair but for Kelly, as she worried about was possibly getting caught by someone and she really didn't want to risk that but yet she continued on. She loved the feeling of this – being with someone you love. She couldn't help it.

That was until she heard a big, "Oh my god," peep out of someone's lips that didn't belong to her.

Kelly initially stopped the kiss and pulled away to see Maryse, standing right before them. Kelly was taken back – she remembered what happened the time before when Maryse witness Cody and Eve with one another and she hadn't even thought about how Maryse was going to react to them. Weird how she couldn't have thought of that, seeing as she was a bit of the roadblock in the way of the two getting together. The rule was still in play – friend's don't date friend's exes.

It was best to rid Cody immediately so she could handle Maryse on her own, "Cody, do you mind leaving Maryse and me alone? I'd like to talk to her in private." Doing as she requested, Cody slid right by Maryse, who had yet to move and remained in the same position as before as Cody exited the room. This was when Kelly came forward, "I hate that you had to find out this way. It wasn't my intention for anything to happen like this – I just need to explain to you everything."

The serious tone in her voice calmed Maryse as Kelly leaned onto the desk, "So Cody and I, we've been kind of fooling around for a little while but it isn't as a joke. We like each other. He told me that he liked me on junior night and he kissed me right there and right after that, he saved me. If he hadn't been for him, Punk would have killed me and luckily Cody was there to save me. When Evan was in the hospital, he was always there for me and I started to develop feelings for him and from there, I didn't know what to do and we spent the entire summer together and I've been fallin' for him since then. I'm sorry this was the way you had to find out but we didn't know how else to handle this situation."

A moment of awkward silence was ignited in the air before Maryse finally chose to speak, "I'm not mad that you're with him or anything along the lines of that – for all I care, the rule doesn't matter to me any longer. The only thing that confuses me is Evan – you're still currently with him, aren't you?"

"That's where it gets very confusing."

"What do you mean by confusing?"

Biting down on her lip, Kelly nervously said, "I don't know how to handle this. Evan, he's amazing. He's such a good guy and he's always been there for me but now I want to be with Cody – I don't know. I don't even know, that's why it's so confusing."

She couldn't lie but this was a surprise for Maryse, to see Kelly in such a predicament, "You've got to fix this up soon Kelly. If you want to be with Cody, tell Evan. You're putting him through a lot and point blank, you're lying to him. He needs to know the truth so you can move forward and so does he."

"And he's such a good guy. He doesn't deserve me. He deserves someone a lot better than me," Kelly muttered out. He was a really good person and she was just playing him like a guitar, "But I have no idea how to approach the matter. I love them both so much."

Offering a friendly embrace, Maryse whispered into her ear and said, "You'll figure this out – somehow."

* * *

This day was just going smoothly – unlike some other days around school. No sign of Layla, Rosa, Alicia or Maxine around her. That's when she thought that maybe Eve's 'talk' with the ladies really worked. Perhaps now she could be a normal student and move away from all of this. Has the tide finally turned?

Like any other day, Tiffany continued to stroll through the hallway after receiving an A+ on her history exam, which placed her on the direct path to winning valedictorian later this year and to not see any of the girls had really made the day much better.

It wasn't until she'd turn the corner where she'd be greeted by something not exactly the nicest thing in the world.

Her locker – number 23 – had received a bit of a paint job with the letters W-H-O-R-E spelled out across the locker. Her heart sunk into her chest, watching the students around her stare at the abstract words written straight across her locker. As she appeared closer to the locker, she touched onto the paint that had dried. The tears, which came way to regularly, formed in her eyes and that's when she realized nothing had changed and that this joke would only continue on – and on. With no end in sight.

As she turned around to face the crowd, some felt horrible, a few laughed and some were confused but it was when Layla came through along with the other ladies. They all had the same wicked smirk plastered over their faces but it was Rosa, who pulled out the camera and took a picture of Tiffany, standing right before her locker.

As she looked into the digital camera, the girls laughed, "Oh, this is definitely going online right away – I may make this my cell phone background."

"Tif, it's like it's the definition of you – written right before the lockers," Layla added, "Whoever did that, really knew the best way to depict you."

She had reached a boiling point. It was all over for her.

She wanted nothing more to just not be here anymore – whether it was out of the school, state, city or just in general, out, she couldn't deal with this any longer. Pushing through the crowds of students, she charged right through and down the hallway. Her hands were used to wipe away the tears and though she was too busy to see where she was going, she bumped directly into someone – Jack, again.

Looking up at him, she frowned and couldn't control her tears, neither her mouth, "I hope you're happy now. I bet this is what you and Layla wanted – for me to be completely miserable. Well the two of you got your wish."

"What are you talking about Tiffany? I didn't do anything to you, since that one time – what's going on?"

"Don't play innocent. It's because of people like you and Layla and all the girls that life is this difficult for me? You guys wanted me gone and you're going to get it and I really hope you're happy."

Tiffany's sleeves rolled upward, unveiling scars that were on her wrist and Jack's eyes traveled directly to the scars and was curious to see where this had been coming from and all he could do is ask, "Are those scars on your wrist?"

Once he had said that, she pulled down the her sleeves and said, "No, don't worry and just leave me alone," And would soon push through him and disappeared.

As she departed, he couldn't but help feel even guiltier for everything he had done. If he hadn't done what he did before, she'd be living a normal life but his actions are ruining her life. This was his fault. How he was going to fix this? He didn't know, he couldn't even think that this was able to be fixed in the first place.

* * *

To finish off yet another long day of school, Maryse thought the perfect way to relax was to sit out on the West Beverly Beach club, enjoying a sweet tasting drink with the nice little umbrella right on the beach. It couldn't have been any better than this. It was certainly peaceful.

"Maryse!"

Until that of course.

Lifting herself up forward, a woman in distress was coming her way and it was Nikki – who definitely by the look in her eyes looked really concerned and upset about something but Maryse couldn't diagnosis the problem. As the Bella came forward, she took the seat beside Maryse and was in dire need of some help, immediately, "What's the matter Nikki? Did you see Taylor Lautner?"

"No – but I wish! No, I'm here to talk to you because you give the best advice," Nikki twisted a strain of her hair and began, "I have a really bring problem that just blew up in my face and it would be wonderful if you could help me. I need the perfect advice so I can handle this situation."

"That's what I am here for. Start spilling it out."

Nervously, Nikki began to play with her thumbs. How was she supposed to approach the situation like this, "Okay, now I told you I told Dolph how I don't want to be with him and that he shouldn't expect that to happen? So I was at the beach club last night and I overheard him talking to Cody and he was telling him everything. He explained how he was really into me, how he thought I was perfect and everything. He never sounded sweeter than before. He really liked me and I just shot him down like that – he doesn't deserve for that to happen to him and I did."

"Where is this whole thing going?"Maryse asked as Nikki remained quiet and it didn't take long for Maryse to figure this whole thing out. With her eyes widening, she was shocked when she could figure out that, "Nikki, you like him now?"

"– yeah. I don't know what's coming across me but I'm really beginning to like him now and I don't know what to do."

She knew the perfect thing that Nikki could do, "You have to talk to him. Let him know how you feel before it's too late. You could still have a chance with him and I think you shouldn't give up. Go find him as soon as possible and talk to him. Don't stall and go!"

"You're right," Leaning over, Nikki embraced Maryse, "Thanks for your help girl. I'm going to go and find him now."

As Nikki departed, Maryse was left alone once again with only the ocean and her drink which was placed down. Before she could proceed any further, her cell phone vibrated and it was a message from Mike – currently who was somewhere in Aspen, enjoying some of the skiing. Lucky for him, he was able to get off school for the time being. They were distant as of late and his trip wasn't helping.

She missed him. They were supposed to be together but he was constantly away, trying to find him the perfect college to go to and now he figure a place in Aspen would be the perfect place.

They had nothing anymore and now she began to question why she was with him in the first place. It was nothing more than a cheap ploy to get over Ted, which obviously wasn't working. She could only think about him and only him. The thought of him being with Eve was killing her.

And speaking of the two, she could see the two of them walking down the beach, enjoying each other's company. He was the one that got away. She wanted to be with him so badly but that wasn't going to happen. Clearly, he had moved on and she had to – well, she was trying but that wasn't working very well for her.

Maryse's future was looking bleaker and bleaker.

* * *

Kelly waited patiently and nervously for her mother, and her fiancé to arrive and was only getting more and more nervous. She didn't know what to expect and just hoped that this evening would go well. Cody was supposed to show up and keep her company but he wasn't showing up. A football practice was keeping him back and Kelly only remained alone for the time being.

But she wouldn't be alone for long, as Evan crept back up from behind her and stood directly behind her, "So what are you so dressed up for tonight?"

She jumped. The voice had scared her and she was thrilled to see him there, "I have dinner with my mom and her fiancé. I'm so nervous Evan – I hope he likes me and I hope I like him."

He held her hand. It was a moment like this that she could count on Evan for, to always be there for her when she needed him. She looked into his eyes and could see the man she fell for – who wouldn't fall for a man with such a big heart like his, "You shouldn't worry. I've learned that if you think about how good something is going to go, everything would be fine. I always tell myself that when I'm in a tough spot and everything turns out okay."

She could always rely on him for the support she needed and he never failed her. As she looked right up at him, she leaned forward, pressing her lips against his in a surprising matter. Once she pulled away, she smiled, "You're perfect – you always keep me calm and relaxed."

"I know I do."

A car pulled up directly in front of the West Beverly Beach Club – a brand new Mercedes pulled up and out came the two people who were inside, Kelly's Mother Kendra and her new fiancé, Michael who had exited from the other side. Tall, Dark and Handsome: The three words she used to describe his appearance, "Hello Kelly," Kendra spoke, just as Michael came to her side, "I'd like you to meet Michael, Kelly."

He offered his hand and Kelly didn't know if she should respond until Evan gave her a little push and eventually she accepted Michael's hand, "Nice to meet you, Kelly – you just as beautiful as your mother here. You guys look a lot alike."

"Thank you – it's nice to meet you too."

Kendra's eye came across the young individual Kelly was with, standing right beside her, "Kelly, who's this boy? I haven't seen him before."

"This is my boyfriend, Evan. Evan, this is my mother Kendra."

Evan came forward, taking Kendra's hand and smiled, "It's really nice to meet you Miss. Blank. Kelly's told me a lot about you."

Michael proposed an idea, "Evan, would you may be like to join us for dinner? I'm sure there's room for one more and I can get to know Kelly and you can get to know Kendra. How does the idea sound?"

"It sounds great – if Kelly's okay with that of course."

Kelly was quick on her feet to answer the question, "Of course I am okay with that," She took a grasp of his hand and pulled him closer, "Come on, let's go," As the two couples headed inside, Kelly could see the evening going very smoothly, now that Evan was here.

* * *

**A/N: **Wonderful to finally get an update through :)  
Not my favorite chapter but it's one of those fillers for something bigger to happen later on.  
Hope you all enjoyed it and please leave a review xx :)

_Next Chapter - Randy receives news from Stacy and Tiffany's secret is revealed  
_


	33. No Gettin' Over You

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty Three_ - No Gettin' Over You

Strange; that would best describe when you'd see Maryse still in school.

With cheerleading practice over with and Nikki off to search for Dolph, she had remained alone as she traveled through the hallway on course to her locker. She smiled, having this weird feeling travel through her body when she walked the halls. It was that feeling of power, being well known and being herself. She really had no reason to feel like this as there was no one to admire it, seeing as the hallways were completed deserted but then again it's six o'clock at night and no one is usually here.

Normally after every practice, her boyfriend – Mike – would accompany her home but yet again he was off to some other state. Tennessee, New York, Florida – she lost track after those three and now he had been on his way to the tenth state to visit a school, just perfect from him.

This wouldn't bring any good to her relationship with her that was set in stone. The constant distance wasn't doing her well – only being able to speak to one another via a text, phone call or webcam. It was a relationship she wasn't willing to make the effort for, that drastically. Her heart wasn't even in the place it should have been in – it was in its on little world and its own path and it didn't involve Mike.

This wasn't a movie where the guy is supposed to sweep the girl off her feet and be her prince charming – he wasn't there and he shouldn't have been there to start for. He was nothing but a cheap ploy to get past another barrier she couldn't overcome no matter what she had thrown into its direction. He was a lie that she had been living. Mike's purpose was to guide Maryse through a mourning process and eventually over the guy she intended for this to happen with.

It wasn't working; in fact it was doing the exact opposite by only guiding her closer to the forbidden one, then guiding her away from him.

What exactly was wrong with her? Could there be a reason behind all of this happening or was there nothing behind this? She wouldn't know – she'd never know because it seems like it would remained unanswered.

As she continued down the hallway to find her locker, she skipped over a puddle of water that was caused by a leaking fountain. _Someone is going to slip there. _Just as she made it to the other side of the hallway, she heard a loud thud hit the ground. When she'd turn around, she'd discover the loud thud was someone slipping on the very puddle she had skipped over. The body had crashed to the floor and it happened to be a football player, with his gear scattered everywhere.

She worried. On her instinct, she rushed over to the wounded player who still remained on the floor and hadn't moved, "Oh my god, are you okay?" Said the concerned blonde once she had gotten to his side.

Once his head turned over, the identity was revealed. She couldn't forget those eyes or any feature that graced his face. Hooking right under his arm, she tried to pull him up and of course, he pulled himself up onto his feet as well. His eyes would eventually meet hers and that's when he spoke, "You didn't have to help me. I would have gotten up by myself just fine."

"Well, I was concerned. I didn't even know it was you in the first place," Her attention was drawn to a cut, placed directly over his eyebrow that would slowly bleed out, "You've got a cut on your head. Let me get you something to cover that up – there's a first aid kit in Mr. Styles classroom."

"No –," He was quick to answer and insist he was okay; "I'll be fine."

"Just listen to me for once," Tugging onto his arm, she pulled him over to the side away from the water and into the classroom that Mr. Styles would have his classes. Placing him down on the nearby desk, she came over to the closet to find the first aid kit just where she thought it would be. As she returned to the table, she retrieved the items needed and performed the 'surgery' she had enlisted on doing so.

His eyes would only hit the ground and he couldn't exactly look her into the eyes – it somewhat bothered her and felt this was an awkward situation as it was. He vended not to say anything and only let her continue what she came in her to do.

"I'm not a nurse but I know this will sting a little bit," She placed a alcohol pad over the wound, cleaning it of its germs and he winced at the slight pain of it, "Did that really hurt?"

As she continued, she'd place a band aid over the wound and he mumbled out, "You didn't have to do this. I don't even know why you talked me into nursing my wounds."

"Well, you never stopped me – you could have walked away but you choose to stay. If anything, I didn't do much talking and you simply listened to what I had to say. You're fault, not mine."

He shrugged, "Whatever."

Finishing off what she started, she moved back for a moment and gave a blank reaction – neither a smile nor a frown – it was just plain, "You're free to go."

As he stood up onto his feet, he looked right back at her and released a half smile, "Thanks – i better get going. I need to go –"

Pursuing her lips together, she licked them lightly and said, "Yeah, I get it. I'll just talk to you later, I suppose right?"

He didn't have the answer to that question because he honestly didn't know if they could but he could give her an answer at least, "Yeah, see you around."

As the football garnered together his things, he pulled his weight out of the classroom but before he'd turn his head and glance at her one last time, standing up tall and keeping her hands folded tightly below her waist. He couldn't smile but just formed a straight line with his lips and nodded before turning back away and into the hallway he had first came out of.

He had disappeared and there she was feeling even more alone than before. She was completely torn apart inside and this encounter was just – well, odd. A part of her wished she didn't do it but that other part only wished it had maybe lasted a little bit longer than it initially did.

It was nice to see him speak to her and actually see a reaction. Her body had went into a frenzy when her heart began to beat in that abnormal rhythm it once did before – similar to the first time she meet him to their first kiss to even right now.

It only provided more evidence to back up the fact that her heart had only belonged to someone else – and he wasn't Mike.

* * *

"– Nathan, could you please help me find the remote?"

Another evening at the Cenas – it involved John, along with his son searching the entirety of the living room and the surroundings to find the remote so the father and son could catch the Lakers and Heat game was scheduled to begin any moment now. Time certainly wasn't on their side.

"Dad! We're going to miss LeBron and Kobe! We have to find it now," Yelled out the younger Cena, Nathan who was now four years old as he scattered around the living room in search for the object that would relieve them of their desire.

"Looking for this?"

In came Mrs. Cena or Torrie, with the remote control in her hand right after placing Ella down for the night, "You wouldn't believe where I found it – someone had placed it in Ella's bed, right beside her pillows. Looks like our little girl was playing a little trick on you two."

John snatched the remote away, in one smooth and quick notion and quickly bounced onto the couch turning the game on and quickly afterwards, his son would join him by his side as they watched their favorite team. Torrie crossed her arms and huffed. It was only another typical night of sports for the two.

The bell rang and Torrie had been positioned right before the door. Twisting the knob, she found Randy Orton standing at the other side of the door. She was quick on her feet to notice that something was wrong. He seemed sadden by something and his right hand held a envelope in his palm. Her concern grew as he didn't speak.

"Randy, what's the matter?" When she asked, he didn't say a word but only gave her the letter that was in his hand. Accepting the letter, she'd reveal its contents and discover what made Randy so upset, "Stacy is requesting a divorce?"

He stuffer his arms together, crossing them and releasing a deep breath, "Stacy's mother came by earlier and dropped this off and she said Stacy had sent this and wanted me to have this. Even with this, I have no idea where she is or anything. All I know is she wants nothing to do with me and I can't blame her. If I wasn't so stupid, this wouldn't be happening but now I'm going to get a divorce and I still don't know where she is."

Obviously, it constantly hurt her every time she saw Randy this vulnerable and hurt. He just needed a second chance but Stacy refused to give him anything. Torrie could end this all right bow but she couldn't. Though she wanted the two to be together, she had made a promise and she planned on keeping it. She knew her best friend and knew that eventually she'd come around and call this whole thing off but it wasn't looking like that so far.

"Randy, I have something I think I should tell you –"

He grew eager, wanting to hear Torrie's claim and said, "What's up Tor?"

_I could tell him now and end this all – I could tell him and this entire catastrophe could be fixed up and their lives can return to normal. But then, I'd be betraying Stacy and losing her trust. What do I do? What do I do?_

Biting down gently on her lips, "I think I should –"

"– So you were at the door disturbing me from witnessing the Lakers destroy the Heat, huh?" And just before she was about to speak, John came rolling in and spoiled Torrie's revelation, "Kobe is going to kill Lebron tonight – even Nathan's got this in the bag and he's only four."

"We should try and get tickets for the next game – when are they coming back home?" Randy asked, as his mind began to slip from Stacy to a basketball game. Torrie believed it was better left unsaid for the moment and for Randy not to know, "But Torrie, you were about to tell me something?"

"…I was just going to say that. Maybe you, John and Nathan can all go to a game one day. I'm sure you will all love it and I heard some tickets are pretty cheap."

She was a horrible person indeed. Keeping such vital information from Randy was wrong but then it was right – Stacy had asked for it and she couldn't just do that to her best friend. She trapped but knew how she could get at, but they had their consequences. Ones that may be severe than she originally thought.

"Randy, go watch the game and I'll grab you guys some things to drink."

"Alright," Randy nodded. John pulled him aside and guided his way to the couch, where the game had continued on.

Torrie quickly flooded her way into the kitchen and found her cell phone hanging there. The number Stacy had called her with before was still recorded on here and therefore, she still had some chance in trying to contact Stacy, hoping to get her to change her mind and give this another chance.

The number had dialed but she was given the voice mail instead. _It's Stacy, please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can._

Following the beep, Torrie sent out one last plea, "Stacy, its Torrie. I haven't spoken to you in a long time and I want to know how you are doing. Randy just came over and said he was served with divorce papers but still doesn't know where you are. Stacy, you need to come back home. I swear, I look at Randy and I see a piece of him die every day and I think you should come home this way things can go back to normal. Please Stacy, he's not who he used to be. I hope you at least consider the option and you call me back soon."

As she pressed the end button, her mind finally began to puzzle together who severe this ordeal is and that her plea could be the final chance Randy would ever have.

* * *

Before class, Tiffany and Eve would usually join one another for some intimate girl talk. They'd range from several different things but this morning was spent with Eve explaining how she wanted to take her and Ted's relationship to the next level.

For so long, Eve knew Ted was a special person and for someone to take her virginity from her, she'd be happy if it was Ted. Her relationship with him had drastically grown over time and developed into a strong bond. For someone to take this away from her, it had to be someone she trusted cared for and loved – Ted had fit into all the categories and she wanted her first time to be with him and nobody else. He had been perfect for the role.

Tiffany will be the first one to tell you that she didn't know the slightest thing about sex. Just like Eve, she was a virgin and had never lost it nor ever got so close to a guy enough for that to happen. In fact, she hadn't experienced much with any guy or just in general hadn't been much of a girl who randomly hooks up with guys and does it every day like it's some sort of sport.

"I was thinking about just going for it out of nowhere – like, I think sex shouldn't be something so planned but should go along with it. He isn't going to expect it but I will and I'll take full control. I want my first time to be special and I think he's the perfect guy for me to share it with."

Tiffany nodded slowly and agreed, "As long as you feel that he's the right one and you're really ready for it, I think you should do it. Though I have no sexual experiences at all, I'd personally would want to wait for someone special and for someone I can say I love before I hit such a milestone like that."

She felt confident in her decision and knew that Ted was the one. The way he'd make her feel, the way he'd treat her and just everything he did made her feel amazing.

"I best be off to class – I don't want to be late," As she rose from the bench, she paused for a moment, "And i hope today is also a good day. Nothing with Layla and her friends – I should have never did that before and I know you already told me its okay like a hundred times but I'm really sorry. Next time, I'm listening to you. I don't want to make the situation as worse as it is."

Surely her time spent with Layla, Rosa or any of the girls was time well spent but she had learned to avoid them more and more over time and the past week hadn't been as bad as it usually would be. Time seem to have been favoring Tiffany for once.

"It's fine and I am going to be just fine. You head for to class and I'll see you later."

Eve smirked, "Alright, I shall see you around."

Once Eve had finally exited, Tiffany directed her attention to the stack of homework she needed to complete. If she wanted to get into the best college possible, she had to do very good in school to make that happen. With her grades currently, she was in line to be valedictorian and she couldn't let anything mess it up.

Just as she was about to pull aside some textbooks, she saw the shadow being cast down on her and she trembled in fear, fearing that it was time for another practical joke from Layla. Much to her surprise when she turned around to find Jack Swagger standing right above her and this time, he didn't look upset nor did he look happy. He seemed to be blanked face. Surely she believed he was actually a good guy but little did she know he was just some poser to get her to fall into a little trap that made her the center of humiliation. The only thought that had raced her mind was what was he exactly up to right now?

She didn't know what to say but she didn't want to hear anything from him so she quickly pulled her textbooks together and stood up, as she was about to leave but she'd be stopped by Jack.

"Tiffany, could you wait for a second? I'd really like to talk to you," He kindly ask, much different from his usually ways.

She stopped and turned to him, letting out a scowl, "Are you going to tell me about another prank you have planned for me? Or maybe how Layla offered sex in exchange for you to play a little dirty trick on me? There's absolutely nothing you could tell me."

His heart had been doing some reflecting and it discovered that what he was doing was wrong and he should have never done any of those things to her. He could finally see the aftermath of what exactly he had been doing and it wasn't providing any good; only bad.

"So I made a mistake or two – I understand."

"– No, you don't understand Jack. You don't understand what you have put me through. You don't understand a damn thing."

As they remained still, Tiffany's books began to slip out of her hands and eventually crashed into the floor, messing up the papers. Tiffany quickly went down to pick them up but so did Jack who tried to help the blonde in distress. What stood out were Tiffany's wrists, which he did notice before. They had caught his attention before and now they seemed much more severe as they did before.

"What's that on your wrist?"

He didn't give her a chance to say anything but quickly yanked at one of her wrists as they both remained on their knees. He pulled up the sleeve to reveal more cuts along her wrists to as high as the middle of her forearm that were so perfectly straight. It frightened him seeing that she was doing this to herself and this wasn't someone else's damage but damage done to her own body by Tiffany herself.

"Are you cutting yourself?" Jack asked, straight forward and was taken back on the self-infliction Tiffany had brought upon herself.

"No!" She was quick to answer and she rolled back down her sleeve, not wanting her secret to be revealed, "I am not cutting myself. Only sick people do that with problems and I am not one of them. It was from an accident –"

The football player wasn't buying it, "You cut yourself, I saw them before and that doesn't look like that's from some accident. Those lines are perfectly straight."

He even brought out how straight they seemed to be, therefore making it impossible for them to be scars from an accident but Tiffany would continue to deny.

Once she had her books right back in her hands, she fixed herself up and told Jack, "It's nothing and I want you to leave me alone. Just leave me alone and don't bother me – ever," And with her final words, she turned and walked away from Swagger, who actually seemed to want to help in this cause but was shot down.

Jack remained standing and took responsibility for it all.

* * *

The day was wrapping up, the weekend was near and it didn't give Nikki much time to find Dolph and get a chance to speak to him.

She couldn't have been more stupid than she was now. Nikki was responsible for breaking an innocent man's heart. All these attempts, they were all signals about how much he cared for her. After each failed attempt, he never gave up and this couldn't give her the idea that just maybe this guy was crazy for her. She was naïve and stupid – she couldn't piece together the puzzle pieces and just landed herself into a huge ordeal. Now she wanted to let him know how she was feeling now. Sad, guilt and surprising, she had begun to have this sudden attraction toward him in the wake of this all.

The dark hair brunette had come to the conclusion: the tables had turned.

Ever since she saw the side to him she hadn't witnessed before, she couldn't stop herself from thinking about him. The sensitive gentle side was appealing to the brunette and not that cocky one she had begun to get so use to over time. Dolph had this huge mask over his face and it wasn't until a time of weakness he had shown the side that she would have liked to see.

Throughout the day, she had spent searching for him and unusually, he hadn't showed up to the class they shared or anywhere else she may expect to see him.

Just when she thought her luck had run out, he'd suddenly appear in through the hallway, accompanied by Evan. Though the two were in the midst of a conversation, interrupting him seemed like the best way to get his attention quick.

"Dolph!" She called out, just when she said that – he turned around an you could see the pain still etched over his face. Stepping forward, Evan remained but stood at a decent position, "Do you mind if I talk to you?"

"You said you wanted nothing to do with me. What do we have to talk to each other about? You said what you had to say and I'm doing what you asked me to do."

"No – Dolph, just listen to me please. I'm sorry that I said all those things but I didn't mean them. I was just upset and you say things you don't mean when you're upset. Clearly, I wasn't thinking at all and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for this."

A heartfelt apology was accepted but it still wouldn't take anything away, "I appreciate the apology, I really do but I'm just a little – weird with all of this – so I'm just going to get going," The somber tone in his voice could only attribute to his feelings still being crushed, "Bye Nikki."

As Dolph walked off, Nikki had forgotten to tell him one more thing – that she was crazy about him. Evan still remained and came by to Nikki.

"He's going to have a lot of trouble getting over you. He isn't too much in the mood to do anything and he isn't the way he used to be. He really liked you Nikki and I'm not exaggerating this when I say it, I think he may have actually been in love with you."

"What? He couldn't be _in love_ with me?"

_He couldn't have been in love with me – that's impossible. _Love – it's a strong word. It carries so much meaning with it then anything else and how could someone be in love? She couldn't explain how he fell for her so quickly like this. It had only been about four or five months and Dolph's feeling were this strong and could only mean he was in love.

Evan bit down on his lip, "I know, it sounds really weird but I'm not lying. When he'd talk to me or the guys about you, you should have heard some of the things he'd say about you. It sounded like he was crazy in love with you. Cody, who had known him for so long hadn't seen him like that for any girl he's dating. He's in love but he's claiming he's over you, which I don't believe for a second."

"I still have to talk to him about this – I have to let him know how I feel about this."

The piece of the puzzle was beginning to plug in and Evan's light bulb lighted up inside his brain, "Hold on just a second – you like –?"

"Stop right there Evan," She quickly interrupted, "Just keep your mouth shut and I'll fix this myself. Do I make myself clear?"

Without a single move from his lips, Evan simply nodded in a slow fashion. A smirk arose on Nikki seeing the possibility of creating a relationship with Dolph really possible.

* * *

"Kelly, I don't know how much longer you're willing to take to tell him?"

"Cody, just take a second and try to realize what the hell I am going through? I have to pick between two guys – who I love both – and I have my mother getting engaged to a man I barely know? I don't need any more pressure than I already do – do you understand that?"

The attitude from Cody hadn't appeared like this before. In fact, this side of Cody Rhodes hadn't been displayed before. Not a bone in her body was enjoying this but he was only acting like this because he cared about her – and them, of course. He wanted a future for the two, as did she but the way of getting this wasn't exactly enjoyable.

"Okay, I know I'm pressuring you and all but I'm doing this for a reason," Cody said, as the two of them sat at the bar in the Beverly Hills Beach Club, "I want to be with you so badly and I've been waiting and waiting. It's been what – five months – that we have been hiding this and you said you would tell him and we could finally finish this whole thing up?"

"You make it seem so easy."

"Because it is! Kelly, it is really easy but you're making it so damn difficult for us!"

Taking back by his angry rant, Kelly pursed her lips together and shot a strong glare, "This isn't easy. No one said this would easy and you know damn well that we can't just let this slide. I've been with Evan for almost a year and you think throwing away something like that is going to be easy. He's your friend and still my boyfriend and I can't just tell him that I'm through with him and go straight to you. Have you though this through Cody? I think about what it will do to him, to us and to everyone around us. This isn't something simple because it's going to change everything."

He understood but that wasn't the point of this, "I understand what you're saying but this has nothing to do with that. It has to do with you telling me that we are going to tell him soon but we haven't done a damn thing and it's November. I'm sick of waiting. I'm giving this till next week. You won't tell him, I will."

"Cody!"

"No! I refuse to wait any longer. I want to be able to hold your hand in public, hug you and kiss you anytime I want. None of this private bullshit or behind a closed door; it's time the door opens and we let the fireworks out and except what happens."

He left. He was done. He said what he had to say and he had to do it. His feelings revealed what he wanted done.

Without moving an inch, she kept replaying in her mind what he had said. He made sense; he was right. Was she wrong then?

But lucky for her, she was going to get some support when Maryse just made it into the Beach Club and could see Kelly remaining at the bar and seemed well – upset – so it was her job as her friend to comfort her in a time of need.

"Kelly? Alone at the bar? What is going on here?" Said Maryse, just when she slid into the space right to her side, "Why are you so upset?"

Releasing a low grown, Kelly whipped her hair back and poured her soul out, "My life is a complete mess. Everything about it is a complete mess and I'm digging myself into a hole I'll probably never come out of. I'm in love with two guys and my mom is marrying some weird guy I never heard of and here I am, thinking that my life is a complete mess."

"Oh poor baby – come here," Maryse gave Kelly a friendly embrace and gave her some reassuring words, "Just take some time and figure out everything out. This weekend, You and I should escape the city – maybe we can get a good deal for a three night stay down in Cabo? Leave Friday, right after class and get back Monday in time for our morning class. My treat."

A laugh was offered, "I think I could use a drink or two when we are there."

"I'll have two margaritas ready for us once we land."

* * *

She loved cuddling up to things, especially when he parents were gone and on her huge queen size bed. With her legs over his, she rested her head on his shoulder and loved the company of having Ted DiBiase with her by her side. In her mind, she wanted to spice things up a little bit without really explaining to him what would happen. Without any warning, Eve pulled her body over Ted and began to kiss her on his lips very delicately but passionately as well.

Ted found this very suspecting and found that Eve was being really over aggressive, than she normally is. He couldn't lie but he was enjoying this for the brief moment as she began to tug onto his shirt, eventually ripping it off his body, tossing it onto the floor to reveal his muscular physique.

As they continued, the hands began to roam and Eve's hands began to travel much more south, eventually fiddling with his belt and fly. She began to unbuckle his belt, wanting to strip him down and played with the fly.

This was where he was getting nervous which was always odd of him to do so.

As Eve continued to remove the belt, Ted ended the kiss and tried to keep him belt from coming off any much more and soon pushed Eve off to the side, "Sorry, I'm just – uh…"

Confused by his surprising actions, Eve threw out a surprising glare and asked, "I was hoping that maybe we could take our relationship to the next level and I'm ready – even though I am a virgin but I'm ready and I want it to be with you. I'm sorry if I came off to strong on you. I bet you were surprised."

"I seriously was. I thought you would have wanted to wait a little bit longer."

Scratching her head, she didn't know how to answer that question and simply said, "Yeah…"

"I'm going to head into the bathroom for a second. I'll be right back, okay?"

Nodding to his request, Ted rushed into Eve's nearby bathroom to think about what had just gone on? Normally, he would have continued on but he couldn't. His mind was couldn't get control of itself and was only focused on one person – Maryse.

He could no longer continue to lie to himself as he was thinking about her more and more since their encounter earlier. She was on his mind almost all the time since then and even when Eve was being more aggressive, he felt as if he was with Maryse. He could picture Maryse as being the one on top of him and not Eve. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting like this? And more importantly, why hasn't anything made any sense. Life was too complicated.

And Ted didn't have the slightest idea on what he would do.

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter complete :)  
Snowing in NYC today - stuck inside all day so that means time to watch movies :)  
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and please leave a review :)

_Next Chapter - The Cody, Kelly & Evan love triangle blows up, Randy's life is turned upside down and Maryse makes a decision about her & Mike._


	34. West Coast Rumble

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty Four_ - West Coast Rumble

"_West Bevers!"_

The clingy voice came through the speakers of the flat screen televisions that were scattered amongst the hallways, along with the face of the West Beverly's editor-in-chief, Evan Bourne splashed on the screen. He'd playfully smirk while he was moments away from presenting the special broadcast that had been prearranged for that midafternoon.

"_Good afternoon my fellow West Bevers – this is the one and only Evan Bourne with a very special announcement for all of you. This special announcement has required some special guests so without any further ado, I introduce to you – the West Beverly Varsity Football team."_

Removing himself from the screen, the display would be occupied by a few members of the football team – primarily – Cody Rhodes, Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and Ted DiBiase. All dressed in their blue and bright yellow jerseys, they had planned a special edition of the West Beverly Chanel, with some help with Evan.

"_My fellow West Bevers, this is the greatest football player of all time, Dolph Zig-"_

Unfortunately, Dolph couldn't finish the final word to his sentence and was rapidly shot down by his fellow teammate, _"Dolph and the rest of us did not come in to lie to you but we came for a different purpose, not really to boast how great we are."_

Feeling a little disgraced, Dolph took a step back as Jack took the time to speak, _"Tonight's a big day, not just for us but for everyone. Tonight's the finals for the Championship and you're West Beverly wildcats are in line to face those losers from – what's it called?"_

"_I believe they call themselves the Bel-Air Owls?"_ Cody added, filling the void to Jack's sentence.

"_Owls? There mascot is some stupid fat looking bird? That really isn't much threatening compared to wildcats – owls, wildcats,"_ He went on – back and forth, _"owls, wildcats – I don't know. You tell me who wins."_

"_Let's not get off topic."_

"_Back to what I was saying – tonight's a big night and we're going to need all the support we need and that's when you guys come in,"_ The Swagg – as he preferred to be called continued ahead, _"Tonight, seven o'clock on the dot – you all need to come and show Bel-Air that West Beverly runs this place and there ain't nobody in this city, state or country that is better than us."_

Popping right back in, after being shot down was Dolph, _"Seniors, Juniors, Freshmen – heck, even Earl the janitor! Everyone needs to come and show their support for our team. We need as many people as possible."_

"_So be there, tonight at seven and let's show those loser Bel-Air kids what we are all about because the hills is the place to be."_

Following the inspirational dialogue, the hallways had filled with clatter – some began chanting wildcats and others chose the more decorative words of 'Bel-Air sucks!' and sung as they went down the hallways. It was just what the team wanted – support. This game was huge for them as the school they lost to Bel-Air last year in the finals as they're historic feud continued on.

"_Let me here you chant, West Beverly!"_ Said Cody, inducing the school with spirit.

"Wildcats! Wildcats! Wildcats!"

The crowd would continue on even as the television screens removed their images – only West Beverly's mascot endured as the hallways had filled with noise and chaos. Two women remained pleased and reassured – a brunette, Nikki and a blonde, Maryse who remained still as they finished watching the video.

"Well, that was certainly interesting – we'll have to deal with them later on tonight. I think Jack's throwing the victory party but what happens if we lose?" The question was fetched forward by Maryse, who held her books tight against her chest.

She nodded, "I suppose even if we lose we can have a loser's party – Jack said they did that last year even if they didn't win. So if they win, we party – if they lose, we still party. I can already see the countless number of intoxicated classmates that will be surrounding me and the smell of booze oozing through their breaths. I better get my gum ready so I can hand out to everyone."

"You've got enough gum for let's say – about hundred and fifty people?" Nikki nodded once more as Maryse's attention was drawn to another individual coming right into her direction, "There's Mike – I've got to talk to him. It's now or never."

"Good Luck," Wished the brunette. She knew exactly what Maryse was up to.

He was smiling. She tried to smile. He seemed thrilled to see her. She did not. This day was surely coming but she didn't think it would be this soon nor under these circumstances – but she had to do it. It was a burden that was buried above her conscience and it needed to be rid of. It lay heavy on her heart as the thought of ending her relationship with Mike had drawn closer and closer. The time had arisen.

He was never around, especially these last few weeks – he had merely vanished and was nowhere to be found. Only a text message or phone call here and there with the new setting he was in that day. No chance to really bond or actually talk about something different other than how lovely New York was or how incredible Boston University was. No chance to actually be a normal couple.

Coming forward, Miz slithered his hands right onto Maryse's soft cheeks and pecked her right onto her lips, tasting the gloss she had placed on moments ago. His hands came down and firmly wrapped around her fingers. He just felt so fortunate, "I missed you so much. I got you a little something from New York but I left it at home. Right after tonight's game, you and I have a lot of catching up to do. I have to tell you about all the schools I saw and a few already offered me scholarships – I think its Hunter State in Virginia that offered me something and so did Miami University. I've got my hands full now."

"I'm proud," With a smile, she said. Surely she was proud but she direly wanted to rid her body of this horrible burden, "Listen, we have to talk," In a much less excited way and more stern toe, Maryse pulled Miz, as he liked to be called, over to the side and mentally prepared herself for the news she was about to reveal. It was like a bomb, moments away from crashing down on him.

"What do you have to tell me, babe?"

She felt the grip he had on her get stronger and the pressure was certainly on her – it was like this imaginary spotlight had been shining down on her and it was all on her. She didn't even have the courage to look him in the eyes and tell him that she was ending this. She could only imagine all the hurt it would cause him. After releasing a deep breath, she began.

"Mike, you're a really good person. I swear, when I first met you I thought you were the biggest asshole on this planet but I got to know you and I discovered you're such a good person than what meets the eye. You were really there for me through a difficult time in my life and I'm always grateful for that. I'd be a mess if it wasn't for you; I know that for a fact. But I thought this relationship would work out but it can't. It can't work out. We can't be together."

It was an expression of shock, sadness and anger that flooded his face – he had remained cold and still and not a word had slipped through his lips. This was ultimately how she pictured this would play out to be and this had been the worst scenario she had picked out.

"Are you – Are you breaking up with me?" He said, with his sentences breaking apart as he felt the sinking feeling inside of him developing.

As much as she didn't want to say it, she nodded instead, "Yes, I'm breaking up with you. You deserve the truth and I am going to give it to you. I thought I was doing the right thing by beginning a relationship with you but it wasn't. I'm still in love with someone else and I thought if we dated, I'd forget about him but it didn't happen. I was just lying to myself about my feelings and more importantly, I was lying to you. I can't lie any longer and I'm sorry for everything. You deserve a lot better and you deserve to have someone who is going to love you and feel the same way about you – there's a girl out there just like that but Mike, it isn't me. That girl isn't me."

His hand slowly released her hand and Maryse left a peck on her cheek and continued, "I'm sorry Mike – I'm sorry it had to end this way but it just had too."

His head crept upwards and it eventually met her eyes. The somber expression remained evident on his surface and he had yet to mutter a single word, though he wanted to badly. His heart was completely broken.

"Mike, say something – say anything."

"…Just leave."

As much as she wanted to beg him to say something, Maryse only did what he requested. Mike remained still and he knew who was responsible for this. It was his entire fault. Ted DiBiase was to blame and speak of the devil, Mike caught him at the corner of his eye – laughing along with his fellow teammates. The anger inside of him rumbled inside and rushed through his veins. He knew he did this – and ultimately he knew he'd get his revenge in time.

As for Maryse, she continued down the hallway and felt the burden of this all escaping her body and finally ridding herself of this all. She was free once again but she knew that this wasn't going to be any easier. Like she said to Mike, she was still in love with someone else…

But was he still in love with her?

* * *

_West Beverly – 28 Bel-Air – 28_

Though he wasn't there, the scoreboard wasn't too far away from him. The numbers were still clear and the game was tight in the midst of the fourth and final quarter. The sound of the countless students that had shown up for support was enormous. Evan could see the people piling into the stands and some standing against the side lines and watching the game continue onward. Why he wasn't there? Well, these senior testimonials had certainly kept his mind preoccupied. They all had to be finished by tonight and luckily, he was coming to an end.

With the rate he was going on, he'd be finishing up just in time to head to Jack's hill top mansion for the victory party, he hoped for or the loser party he didn't hope for as much.

His final tape was a special one for sure – Kelly Blank was written upside the tape and he had to edit it and size the video down so it may be placed onto the video yearbook as well as being played at their tenth high school reunion. Her cd had been placed in, beginning to roll afterwards.

_Pressing the record button and the red light came up as Evan asked one last time, "Kelly, Where do you see yourself ten years from now?"_

_"If I'm correct, ten years from now it would be the year 2021 and crossing my fingers that the world doesn't come to an end by then. I'll probably be right back here at West Beverly being a history teacher. I love this school so much and I would love to be back here in a different position."_

_Kelly's eye traveled to the door, where a figure remained standing. His blue eyes remained glued onto the blonde and soon they'd exchange glances directly. Her eyes met his and his met hers and that's where she got to explain the second half of her confessional._

_"And I'm going to be the happiest I've ever been, I know that. I'll have wonderful friends to depend on and I'll have someone so special to me that he can never be duplicated – he'll the perfect person made for me who I know would stand by me through just about anything. He'll be everything I want and just about everything I'll ever need in my life."_

He quickly paused the video, leaving a still frame of Kelly remaining and looking so beautiful.

The testimonial was certainly a pleasant one and was much different from the ones that had explained how'd they successfully their lives would be but he found it intriguing how she'd explain how happy she'd be in ten years from now. Happiness is always the key essential to living a good life and Evan was luckily to have a special girl enough that had that type of mentality.

Just as he was about to end the video there, he had let the video continue onward and saw there was a lot more left into the video – including an appearance by him.

_The words flew out perfectly, directly into the ears of the individual who it was meant for. He'd smile in response to her lovely words for the future. To get some words out of her like this meant so much to him. It was all he wanted to her from her, was her true feelings and indications of what she exactly wanted. He wanted her and now, she wanted him. All was fitting right into place now – except Evan, where was his place to be? Where would he be with all of this?_

_Evan smiled on to Kelly, thinking it was all for him – little did the young Bourne know that it wasn't for him. Coming forward to Kelly, Evan pulled her into hug and a kiss onto her head, he smiled, "That was probably the best testimonial all day – I'm just going to get some tapes and I'll be ready to go. Maybe we can head to the beach club?"_

_"Beach club it is."_

"I'm so lucky."

The next scene would continue on and that's where Evan grew much more curious, as he witness Cody coming into the video as well.

_He smile in response before heading out of the room and in came another individual with an even bigger smile on his face. Not even saying a word, he'd cup her face and leave a sweet kiss right onto Kelly's lips, something he had longed to do for so long. The feeling in the kiss left Kelly in such a spell that she didn't want it to end. Her heart finally knew what it needed – and he was right here, standing right before her._

_Pulling away from her, Cody went on to say, "You don't know how much I missed seeing you."_

_"I just happy that I know what makes me happy."_

_Without any further a due, Kelly pulled Cody up into another kiss and it was just as sweet as the previous one but something may rain on their parade really soon if that red dot on that camera continues to light up._

His heart completely sunk. He paused the video directly over the scene where Cody has his hands wrapped around Kelly and their lips were locked. Repeating the words Kelly had said in her speech had been repeating in his mind and it clearly wasn't directed toward him. None of Kelly's heartfelt words were for him but were really for Cody.

He couldn't understand any of this. One of his best friends and his girlfriend, secretly seeing one another behind his back? How could Kelly do this to him? How could Cody do this to him?

He couldn't feel anything in his chest nor single bone in his body. His head collapsed into his hands and he just thought about this and saw he didn't have a single answer to any of this. His mind was a mess and when his head came upwards, he witnessed the image of Cody and Kelly's lips still locked up.

Anger built inside of him and Evan being the fun loving calm one, he'd even surprise himself by his own actions. His tossed down aside all the tapes that remained on the table, crashing to the floor and even took out all his anger and crashed the television screen down to the crowd, destroying everything. With fury, he tossed papers around and released out his anger in any means possible.

His eyes traveled to the window, where he saw the game was moments away from coming to an end and he needed to confront them – he wanted answers. He wanted them now.

And he was going to do anything to get the answers he wanted.

* * *

"Touchdown! West Beverly Wins! West Beverly Wins!"

The crowd – the West Beverly side that is – was going insane as the final touchdown was made that gave the team the winning touchdown courtesy of one Ted DiBiase, who made the team's winning touchdown. The cheerleaders continued on cheering as the voices cried out with joy. The other teammates bombarded Ted, eventually raising him into the air as they continued their victory.

On the sidelines, the coaches – John Cena and Randy Orton – celebrated until Cody and Dolph came from behind, releasing a cooler of water onto them – usually a sign of celebration for the winning team. You'd expect them to be upset but in reality, they were thrilled as they headed into the middle of the field to join in the celebration.

The countless players continued to congratulate DiBiase on being the player of the match, scoring the victory for the team but it wasn't until he managed to get down onto his own two feet he saw the real prize coming right toward him. Holding onto his helmet, he quickly began to walk right toward Eve, whose smile remained etched in and took her into his arm, twirling her around and once back on the ground, he gave her a sweet and tender kiss.

"Congratulations! I am so proud of you, you don't even know how much I am," Said the latina, as Tiffany had approached her side.

"Congrats Ted, you did a phenomenal job," Tiffany leaned forward, giving the football player a big huge in response to his very big victory, "The first football game I show up to and the team I'm rooting for wins?"

"Maybe you're just a good luck charm for West Beverly."

She giggled in a short response before Eve, who still remained proud of her boyfriend continued on, "Tiffany and I are both going to come to Jack's victory party. If you want, we can wait for you and we'll drive up there. Whatever is easier for you to do?"

"Just go – I'll grab a ride up there with Cody because I am going to probably be here for a while."

She curved her lips up to a smirk, elevating herself to place a kiss onto Ted's lips, "Don't keep me waiting. Call me when you're on your way."

"I will. See you later."

Ted remained still and watched both the ladies beginning to walk away from him. Midst turning his body around, the field was slowly beginning to get empty as the victory celebration would transfer from the school over to Jack's hilltop mansion. Getting the victory felt amazing; especially in his final year at West Beverly and to know that in the newspaper they'd announce that it was he who was responsible for the team winning.

Mistakenly lost in his own trance, he accidently bumped into a cheerleader who had happened to be Nikki Bella, "Sorry Nikki, didn't watch where I was going," He lifted her right up in one smooth swing, "You heading to Jack's party?"

"Well before that, I'm heading to the beach club to grab a victory drink with the ladies and then probably head to the party with Kelly – if I can find her somewhere. She disappeared one me."

"No Maryse?" It was surprising that Nikki hadn't mentioned Maryse, seeing that she'd probably be the first one at a party.

"Maryse isn't going to come. She actually called it a night a few minutes ago and decided to just go home."

"Wait, why?"

"Did you hear? Well, Maryse and Mike broke up today so she's been in a bad mood since then so she just wanted to go home and be alone. I'm surprised you didn't hear about that seeing as half the school knows about it already," Revealed the Bella twin, "Oh and Ted, do you know if Dolph is going to go to the party?"

Returning back to reality, Ted left his trance and answered with a , "Yes, he's coming," and he could notice the huge grin that suddenly appeared on Nikki's face, "What are you so happy and dandy about? Don't you hate Dolph or something?"

Secret's almost out; she remained tightly lipped though, "Okay, Ted. Got to go – bye!"

Once Nikki had completely disappeared from the scene, he found the woman in distress, leaving the football field. Maryse packed herself toward the parking lot. The discovery of Mike and Maryse's break up was shocking, to say the least. She appeared visibly hurt, even when the door was opening in her car.

It was right at this moment where Ted felt he needed to speak to her. His memory couldn't forget the previous break up she had, including him of course and he very well knew what it felt like. He could imagine how hurt she was at the very moment and that's where he felt the need to apologize for all he had done to do. This ton of grief had come across him and he just needed to talk to her. All he wanted was to hear her voice, seeing as what he desired the most.

Ted wanted to cement their past and let the past remain the past so their future could be brighter. Forget any party or celebration – he had much more important things to do.

* * *

Cody Rhodes was clearly on top of the world.

Following four quarters of intense running, tackling and throwing – it had all come to an end and in the best way possible, with West Beverly on top. In all his years at West Beverly, they had never had won the championship and it was in his final year that it had finally come true. Even as a young child, Cody always imagined himself playing for a team like this and ultimately winning the biggest prize of them all.

Switching out of his uniform, he switched them for a much more comfortable set of clothes and chose to tug his uniform back in his duffle bag. Reaching for his shirt, he felt someone's touch come over his shoulder. Revolving around, he was welcomed with a smile from a honey blonde haired woman.

Not a word slipped out but only a peck on his lips was her way of greeting him and congratulating him at the same time.

"I'm so proud of you," With her kind words came her hands wrapping around his neck, "And I have even more important news to tell you. I plan on telling Evan first thing tomorrow morning about us and we can't be together anymore. It's time I make a decision and stop stalling what we have any longer."

"I'm happier to hear that than actually winning the game. It's such a relief that this hiding for the past few months will finally pay off. I'll be able to hold your hand whenever, kiss you whenever and tell you that I love you whenever I want. I'll finally be able to have the normal relationship I've always wanted with you."

It wasn't what she expected him to say but it was just what she would have liked to hear. Tonight, they'd be celebrating more than just the victory – but a personal victory for the two of them. No longer able to control herself, she came forward planting another peck on his lips. It took her all the energy in the world not to just throw herself onto him and celebrate a little bit earlier than she would have hoped to do.

"…So it is true."

The voice didn't belong to either one of them. Removing their lips apart slowly, Kelly feared the worse at this point. Twisting her body around, she was in for a rude awakening at the door step of the locker room. Her jaw quickly traveled south and shaped itself into the surprised expression she wanted to present.

Even more facts were provided for Evan, seeing the video come to life than it had before. The image had yet to have been erased from his mind as it remained etched in his skull, permanently. He couldn't even begin to imagine if this would ever exit his mind. The entire shock of this had left Evan upset and confused. None of his questions had any answers to them and he desired to have them answered tonight.

"Evan, I can explain," In a calm suiting voice, Kelly's goal was to try to keep this conversation violent free, "We were going to tell you about this – we really were. I'm – I'm so sorry this the way you had to find out."

Just as he had expected, a weak and frill apology from Kelly as Cody kept his lips tight shut, "What I saw in your testimonial wasn't for me I suppose, right?"

Kelly nodded, "No."

"– Yeah, I kind of plugged that in after I saw the rest of your testimonial. After I disappeared, Cody comes rolling in and it was all for him. I don't understand why you continue to hide this from me. Have I not been a good enough of a boyfriend that you did this to me? Hiding behind my back with one of my best friends? Times where you were sick or some other lame excuse, where were you really? Were you with him and don't lie to me Kelly. I've been lied to already one to many times."

Cody remained silent and it disappointed Kelly, seeing how he wasn't standing up for her at all, "I'm not going to lie to you anymore. Yes, I did a lot of things so I can spend time with Cody. I lied to you and I know what I did was wrong but –"

"Wrong? This is beyond wrong Kelly. How long has this been going on?"

He wanted the truth and Kelly had to give it to him, "Since the summer, while you were in the hospital. We've been keeping it hidden since then."

The truth hurts – it especially hurt Cody as he heard the revelations pouring out. Even during his time in the hospital, these two were together and he didn't even know a thing about it. His heart had sunken so deep, he feared it would ever return to its original state.

"I can't believe it," In distraught, he raced his hand through his hair and scowled right at Cody, "And Cody, one of my best friends hooking up with my girlfriend behind my back. You went on as if nothing was going on and acted like a normal human being. I don't understand any of this. I thought we were friends man," And Cody felt so ashamed he didn't even say a word, just was disappointed in himself and his decisions, "Before you're all talk and now you're all quiet. I can't believe I'd even trust you."

"I'm sorry Evan –"

"You're apology means nothing to me. You lied to me for months, went behind my back and ripped my heart right out of my chest."

Hearing the grim words travel out of Evan's mouth, Kelly couldn't bear to hold in her emotions and released it, in the shape of tears traveling down her beautiful smooth cheeks, "I made a huge mistake and I can't make up my mind any longer – I love the both of you so much."

"Well, I'll make it easier for you and Cody. I'm done. I don't want to be with you and clearly, you rather be with Cody instead so I'll give you guys your happy ending –"

"Evan, no! Not like this! Please don't leave."

He was finished with this all and couldn't handle this any longer. Turning back to the door, Evan sprinted out of the locker room to leave a wounded Kelly and an upset Cody all alone to ponder on their actions and its consequences. Remaining frail and weak, Cody came over and placed his hand directly above her shoulder in a sign of comfort for the wounded blonde.

"It's going to be okay Kelly – we can finally be together."

In an abrupt fashion, Kelly pulled her shoulder away and faced Cody with a scowl on her face, "It's going to be okay? Cody, nothing is going to be okay! Evan hates the both of us, we've ruined him and you think that it's going to be that easy to just move on and act like nothing ever happened just now. I don't understand you – I'm sorry that I still care for Evan."

"But you heard him? He wants nothing to do with us. This is completely ruined.

"No it's not. I have to talk to him."

Kelly gave Cody one last stare and looked directly at the door following it. She needed to speak to him and just let him know about everything, even if it meant leaving Cody right now. She exited and began to chase right after him.

As for Cody, he knew that life would not be the same.

* * *

" – Eve, please come back soon. I'm getting nervous. What if Layla and all the girls are here? They are going to humiliate me once again and I'm never going to hear the end of it ever again. Are you at least close by?"

Frightened – that was what best describes Tiffany's feelings at the moment. Jack's party had begun in full swing and the people just filled in. She just didn't want to run into Layla or anyone of those girls. She wanted to avoid them and not have to deal with them on a day like this.

"Tiffany, I say you got upstairs and just stay in there. I know you probably feel really uncomfortable and I should be there in about fifteen minutes. I just got into the parking lot and I can see that they were still there – Cody's car is parked outside still. I'll call you when I'm on my way back and let you know when it's safe to come out. You'll be fine."

As she ended the call with Eve, Tiffany hopped into the direction of the stairs and continued upward into the huge mansion. The spiral staircase was simply beautiful and once she had reached the top, she could see the countless doors that lead into different rooms. Without any judgment, she quickly selected the nearest door and quickly jumped inside of it.

Awards – countless awards had filled the room – trophies, medals and certificates, all of those kinds of things and they each had the same name on them all – Jack Swagger. Tiffany could already predict that Jack was some athletic golden child. They had all ranged from basketball to soccer to bowling to about any sport known to the planet earth.

It was impressing, to say the least.

Pulling up against the window, she witness her fellow classmates either intoxicating themselves, having a random hookup they'll later regret or playing an alcoholic based game. She couldn't explain why she was here when it was in this very place she was humiliated and not only that, she never really fit in with this crowd of people. They weren't exactly people she could get along with but yet she remained there – mainly because Eve had asked her.

"Hey – you're not supposed to be up here."

Initially fear rushed through her body when she heard the oddly familiar husky voice. As much as she couldn't face the person, she responded back with a confused stare, "Sorry Jack – I was just waiting up here for Eve to come back."

Taken aback, to say the least, to find Tiffany back here seeing as how she had some bad memories of this place from before; Jack closed the door from behind and came forward, "I didn't think you'd be here."

"If you want, I'll be happy to leave. I really don't have to stay."

"No – No, it's completely fine. You should stay but the party's downstairs. Why don't you come downstairs?"

The urge to push her downstairs wasn't exactly working and she was quick to accuse him, "Listen, if you're trying to get me downstairs so you can have yourself another prank and you can laugh about for days, I'm not interested. Has Layla upped the prize if you manage to get me downstairs?"

Even with his apology, she still wouldn't believe that he was being honest and was truly sorry for what he had done. She remained doubtful and frightened about the possibility of being mixed up into yet another practical joke that she truthfully doesn't deserve.

"No, I'm not here to do that or anything like that. I am sorry about what I did, I really am. When I saw you after that time with what Layla did to your locker, I saw how hurt you were and it made me realize that what I was doing was wrong. If you don't want to believe me, fine – I'm just letting you know how I feel."

It sounded sincere but she knew how sincere he was when he first met her but where did that exactly lead her – being completely and utterly humiliated in front of hundreds of students.

At the very tip of her toes, Tiffany could begin to feel what seemed to be like a tremble in the ground. Something had been moving – it wasn't until one big shake down, she really felt the tremble throughout her body and even almost knocking her off her two feet.

"What the – what is that? Why is the room shaking?"

The rattling continued, as it began to knock down pictures and Jack's prized awards. Screaming had filled the air, mostly from outside and when Tiffany peaked out, she witness her fellow classmates running in fear in different directions. Car alarms went off in the distance and windows began to shatter and this was where Tiffany was finally growing extremely worried.

Jack already knew what was coming along, "It's an earthquake," He shouted out to Tiffany as he tried walking over to her but kept falling back. Tiffany grew scared until Jack and managed to get to her. She screamed but he said, "Keep quiet. Get under the desk over there – go!"

Guiding the blonde and protecting her from falling objects, he managed to get her right under the desk. There she held onto her legs tightly and watched as Jack couldn't fit in. She tired her best to move in, "Get in before something falls on top of you!"

"No, I'm fine. I'll be fine right here."

Tiffany took the moment and closed her eyes as the rattling went on and on. The screams continued to flood into her ears. She wanted this all to be over already – she hoped this was a dream. Once she had opened her eyes back, they immediately had met with Jack. Locking into each other's stare, Tiffany felt safer with him around. Had the tides really changed and could Jack be a changing man? Tiffany would have to wait and find out for herself.

* * *

The Cena household was full that night – full as in the hectic meal that Torrie had prepared. The five, including the frequent visitor – Randy – had just finished the enormous meal that had been specially prepared for that evening.

At the head of the table, John tossed down his napkin and gave up. Not a single piece of food could enter his body at the moment – he seriously could even take a single look at a piece of food, "Tor, you did it again – you stuffed me fuller than a turkey on thanksgiving. I'm so happy I married a good chef."

The compliment was sweet, even though Torrie had been fussing and fighting with Ella to finish the portion of vegetables, "So that's why you married me – to get a good meal out of me? Good to know you had some wonderful intentions," Said Torrie, as she continued to fight with Ella, to get some of the good into her mouth, "Come on Ella – just one more bite and you're done. No more food."

The child did as she was directed and luckily, cooperated with the mother. Randy sat in the corner, fiddling around with his food on his plate and hadn't really said anything until John broke the ice, "Dude, you've barely eaten anything on the plate. We're supposed to be celebrating the team's big victory."

He remained silent as all he could think about was Stacy and the fact that he hadn't been able to get in contact with her at all. With the win, he was only reminded when he won that very same game years ago and Stacy was right there to be with him in his time of victory. John and Torrie both very well knew why the sudden silence had appeared from and Torrie knew she could have stopped all of this but she didn't explain why she didn't. She wanted to tell him right then and there – get this off her chest but it was that difficult of a decision.

As the table would soon be cleared up, the kids remained seated on Randy's side and John and Torrie remained seated next to one another. Randy looked up with such a strike of fear in his eyes as his heart came pouring out, "I miss Stacy – I miss her so much like you don't understand. Stacy and I – we've been through just about everything and I can't give up on her like this. All I want is to have her back."

"I know man."

"And I'm sorry guys – you've both been so supportive and stuck by me through this and I don't know how else I could repay the two of you for helping me deal with this struggle. I wonder how different my life would have been if I never had met either of you."

That was it – that's all it took for Torrie to reach the edge and discover what she was doing was wrong. There had clearly been nothing right about hiding that whereabouts of Stacy. It was just her promise to her friend but clearly now, she couldn't keep that promise any longer. The truth would come out sooner or later and it might as well be right now, "Listen, Randy – I have something I should tell you."

With the seriousness in her voice, Mr. Orton knew it was important and he grew a little suspicious. Even John did, seeing his wife in a much more serious way, "What's up, Tor?"

Releasing a big gulp down her throat, Torrie prepared herself for the aftermath of this revelation as it would clearly shake up Randy's life.

"I should have told you this sooner but I didn't. I should have told you right away but…"

"What were you suppose to tell me?" Randy's voice grew louder and deeper, "What should you have told me right away?"

It was do or die.

"I know where Stacy has been."

The selection of words repeated in his mind over and over again. The inside of his body grew angrier and angrier, "What?" He shouted, "You knew what Torrie? And you didn't tell me a god damn thing?"

John was taken aback by Torrie's revelation as she went on to explain. She grew weary and gloomy, "She called me a few months ago, telling me that she was living in Seattle with the kids. She told me not to tell you anything because she was still upset with you and now I know what I did was wrong. I know I should have told you right away but Stacy's my best friend and she had asked me too –"

"So let me get this whole thing straight – you've have known for months that Stacy has been living in Seattle and you chose not to tell me a damn thing and let me suffer even more than I have already suffered. You led me on to thinking she didn't want anything to do with me and lied right into my face. You – You… this is your fault," The blame game was currently in play and it was all pointed at Torrie as Randy rose from the table. John watched on in shock, as did Nathan and Ella who were quietly playing with one another, "You kept her from me. You kept me from fixing this all. This is all your fault!"

"No!"

"Yes – if it wasn't for you, I'd be with Stacy right now repairing this mess I've made. I would be able to see my children, who I haven't seen in such a long time. This is all your fault."

_He's right, it's my entire fault. _Torrie remained silent and cold as Randy remained in distraught. All his problems could have been solved but it was because of Torrie, that he remained so distant from Stacy.

"I can't believe this Torrie," John said, in such disappointment of the entire situation, "I don't understand how you could have done this."

"I was in a difficult position. I didn't know what to do."

"Well, you did the wrong thing that's for sure. You kept me away from my children and the woman I love the most in this world and it's your entire fault. I hope your happy now Torrie – my life is completely ruined."

The stingy feeling in her eyes appeared, along with a set of tears following downward. He was right – he hadn't been even more right than before.

Just as Randy's scowl grew darker and darker, the sudden appearance of shaking ringed throughout the home. The windows shattered, car alarms went home and the house was in a complete frenzy. Ella began to cry out for help – an earthquake was about to strike.

"It's an earthquake!" John called out.

The shaking worsened as the chandler in the dining room collapsed down onto the table, smashing everything on it. Ella ran into Torrie's arms and John said, "Get under the table – hurry!"

They did as they were directed and John held onto Ella and Torrie tightly, until they realized that Nathan had completely disappeared, "Nathan!" Torrie cried out, as the shaking had continued throughout the home, causing nothing but destruction and chaos in their home and straight through Beverly Hills.

"I see him!"

Randy was quick onto his feet to find the young boy standing in the living room. Thinking on his feet, he quickly ran out to grab the young boy. Just when Randy had grabbed him right into his hands, he covered him with his body. The sound of cracking rumbled through Randy's ears and when he looked up, a part of the ceiling had completely collapsed onto him and Nathan. Torrie looked on with horror, witnessing both Randy and Nathan being completely buried in the ruble. Her heart completely sunk. The worst had really happened and all she could do was cry out in distress.

"No!"

* * *

"So Kelly, this is my fifth time calling you and you haven't answered. I got changed already and I'm waiting for you at the beach club. Call me as soon as you can, so I at least know you're alive or something."

Closing her phone, she had just completed another attempt to get in contact with Kelly. She figured – why wait for her any longer? – When she can just meet her there? Couldn't she have thought this up hours ago? Taking her purse off the bar's counter, she wrapped it over her shoulder and found herself heading for the exit.

How'd the evening play out, she didn't know while she headed in the direction of the parking lot, her hair flowing neatly at her backside. So deeply lost in her mind, Nikki grew unaware of her surroundings until she bumped into an individual by her side. Breaking the trance she was in, she couldn't forget those platinum blonde locks of his and his sculpted face. She couldn't forget anything about him.

"Sorry Dolph, I wasn't paying attention at all."

Breaking the awkward silence was Nikki who stared up into his eyes. It was such a whirlwind with Dolph – she hated him and all of a sudden, she felt this undeniable attraction to him that she couldn't lie to anyone about and it was to the point where he didn't want to see her any longer that suddenly made her feel this way.

Dolph still had his heart broken. The way Nikki had explained everything to him that day, he got the message clearly. She didn't want a single thing to do with him at all. How he thought there was still a chance still puzzles him. Message after message from Nikki but it went in through one ear and straight out the other.

"It's nothing – I'm fine," He quickly answered, "Are you heading to Jack's party?"

"Yeah, I was waiting for Kelly but she was nowhere to be found so I'll probably be going up there myself now. Congratulations on the big victory too – you played really good out there."

A little smile was brought forward but unsure if it was appreciated, "Thanks, I guess."

Awkwardness – there was clearly too much of it in the current situation and was making just about everything feel odd. Something was suddenly about to shake up this place. The grounds experienced some unexpected shaking and rattling coming from the ground and spreading throughout the building. Dolph and Nikki watched on until they realized what was going on. An earthquake was about to strike.

As the rattling continued, Nikki began to lose some balance, almost falling over but luckily leaning against the wall to prevent her from falling over. She looked up at Dolph and just wanted to let everything known, "Dolph! Listen to me – I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry about what I told you that day how I never wanted to see you again. I didn't mean it," Nikki paused, releasing a scream when she heard crashing, "And then I overheard you one night talking to Cody and I felt terrible. I'm sorry that I treated you like that. To be honest –"

Parts of the ceiling began to cave in and Nikki would cry out at the sound of them coming down. Dolph looked upward and saw the light fixture was second away from coming down, right on top of Nikki. Without even thinking, he rushed over to Nikki and pushed her aside, just as the chandler above came crashing down onto Dolph's body.

As the rattling went onward, more damage was being done – eventually everything around them was falling, even an explosion was heard not too far away. When Nikki would look up, she'd found Dolph's lifeless body lying on the floor. He was hurt, seriously hurt.

"Dolph!" Nikki cried out in agony.

Rushing over to him, with the earth shaking was difficult but she eventually got to him and saw that damage had been done. She didn't know what she had to do so with all her strength, she pulled the chandler off his body to find the wounded football player full of gashes. Nikki took a hold of his cold hand and rubbed on it gently.

"You're not going to die today."

* * *

"Evan, please don't. I want to explain – I want to make everything okay."

"There's no way you can fix this Kelly – you cheated on me with one of my best friends and you want to make everything right? There's no way it can be fixed now."

He was devastated. Not a word or apology can fix any of this. It was in ruins. Their relationship had hit a point where it could no longer return. Anything Kelly had said cannot fix any of this – it wasn't repairable.

He vigorously continued down the middle of the street, not once looking back to see Kelly following him. Evan's heart had been torn into pieces. Life wouldn't be the same either. Kelly on the other hand, thought there was a chance to fix this situation before it worsens. Something kept telling her to give up but she couldn't. He was too important to simply walk away from.

"Could you at least face me and let me speak to you?"

He ultimately selected to listen to what she had to say and turned his body around, crossing his arm and remained in a much aggravated position, "Well, talk – even though it's useless as I've already made up my mind about this."

"You don't know how difficult this has been for me. Evan, I love you – I'm still in love with you. You've always been there for me no matter what and I can't lie that I haven't appreciated that."

"Please, all those times you have said you were so lucky to have me – that's a bunch of crap."

His tone had risen, in a much darker way which of course was odd, "No – I always meant that. Everything I said was true, I'm always so thrilled that I was able to be with someone who was always there for me and it made me regret my mistakes more and more. I don't deserve you – I really don't. You've been so good to me and I've been nothing but a big liar who'd constantly make up excuses. Cody and I – it's complicated."

"What's so complicated about it?"

"I don't know even if I want to be with him – I don't even know who I want to be with. You're both amazing human beings and I can't choose over you two," Kelly's heart was officially a war zone. A battle she'd probably never winner but someone needed to win but she didn't know if she could be with Cody or Evan – as much as she told Cody she was in love with him, she was still madly in love with Evan. Her heart was a complete and utter mess, just like her mind.

"Like I said – I've made it easier for you. I'm done Kelly so you and Cody could be together now – worry free, no more behind my back and free to do whatever you please."

With his final words said, he returned to walking back down the street. As for Kelly, the tears had traveled down, crashing onto the cold pavement. She's lost him – she's lost him for good.

Just when everything was over, the rattling had begun. In upward and downward motions, the ground began to shake rapidly. Kelly couldn't keep her balance and Evan turned back around to find Kelly falling down but getting herself back onto her feet.

An earthquake was just about to strike.

"Kelly!" Evan cried out to the blonde.

Cracks in the ground began to appear, some crossing though directly through Kelly's legs and without a single notice, the appearance of bright lights appeared and before Kelly could even take a gasp of air, a car came crashing thought, striking the blonde over the car and onto the cold pavement. The car lost controlled and crashed into a tree, knocking the tree onto the car. In the middle of the street, Kelly remained motionless.

Once hearing the horrific noise, Evan stopped and stare before releasing out one last scream, calling for her, "Kelly!"

* * *

A Friday night and Maryse wasn't out, spending money and having drinks? Something was clearly wrong.

Her bedroom was fit for a princess – she had her cheerleading outfit laid out and quickly slipped into a comfortable pink dress. Sitting beside her mirror, she'd gently brush on her blonde locks looking into the mirror and thinking about what has happened to her. She ended things with Mike – something she should have done earlier. It was a cheap ploy to get over Ted and it didn't work. She was still crazy about him – if not crazier.

What was worse about this all? Well, she couldn't have him. He was with Eve and they were happy and she couldn't ruin that just to have that for himself. Normally, she'd do whatever she wanted to get what she wanted – she'd never care for a single person at all and was so selfish and self-centered. As much as she wanted something, it wasn't worth ruining someone else's life.

As the clock on her cell phone turned to 10:27pm, the doorbell had suddenly rung. Surprising it would be to have a guest at this hour seeing as her mother was somewhere in Barbados, Dad was in New York and her sister was traveling the world. Getting up from her seat, she left her room and headed down the stairs. Upon opening the door, she was stunned to see the contents behind the door waiting for her.

"Ted, what are you doing here?"

The hero of the championship game – Ted DiBiase – remained standing right outside Maryse's door, "Hope I didn't wake you up or anything but I came by because I'd really like to talk to you about something – it's pretty urgent."

Maryse was puzzled to find him of all people standing right before her, "I figured you'd be celebrating with the team after the big victory but what do you have to talk to me about?"

"– It's about junior night. I made a mistake. A mistake I've been living with for months and I can't stop thinking about it. I'm constantly reminded that I hurt you and that I caused you so much pain. I'd do anything to take back what I did – that's right, what I did and none of it was Eve's fault. I was the one who did it because I'm just so angry sometimes and so much had happened to me and well, I can't give you all of these explanations. The only thing I want to let you know is that every day I regret what I did and I want you to know that."

The confession was surprising to say the least and Ted's sudden appearance wasn't expecting. She was lost for words – to see him here almost brought her to tears, thinking about everything she had went through. She just wanted to take him into her arms and just be held.

And she did just that.

Not a word and she just wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly. In response, Ted did the same and wrapped his arms around her tiny body, taking in the beautiful scent that had come along with it all. This is what felt right – this is how it should have always been.

As she shut her eyes and felt the comfort, she'd be surprised soon when she'd discover something else coming above. As her eyes peeled opened, she noticed a vase standing above a small table as it began to shake violently and eventually fell onto the ground in a million pieces. Soon, everything else would join as well – the picture came down and the many other objects around them were coming down. She was in the midst of an earthquake.

"Oh my god – it's an earthquake!"

Responding to Maryse's cry, Ted ended the embrace but instead took her hand guiding her into the nearby dining room, "Come on , we have to get under the table," And listening to what he had said, Ted guided Maryse into the nearby dining room and shoved her underneath the marble table. Once she had gotten in, Ted joined afterwards. As the noise continued, Ted offered his arms once again – pulling the woman into an embrace.

Digging her face into his chest for comfort, she knew that something was about to shake everyone's lives.

* * *

**A/N: **dun, dun, dun! What is going to happen next? Have to admit, had a blast writing this chapter.  
I did this in my first life in the hills and i thought, why not do it again. Its going to go on for a few chapters.  
Please Vote on the Poll :) And i'd like to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy new year! All the best in 2011 :)  
Take care xx

_Next chapter - Tiffany opens up and The lives of Randy, Nathan, Kelly & Dolph hang in the balance._


	35. Aftershock Part I

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty Five_ - Aftershock Part I

Though the rattles had finally calmed down, the rattle of fear remained stricken in Tiffany. Gradually, Tiffany eyes opened and they had quickly met with Jack's – who still remained right before her, without a single cut or scrap against him. Just like he said, all seemed to play out well for the two of them.

"It's over – you can come out now."

Pulling her body out of the desk, Tiffany's eyes were greeted by the immense damage that had been done by the earthquake. The bits and pieces of glass were scatted down on the polished wooden floor and countless objects were completely knocked off. Of course, it never seemed bad but in reality it was. Tiffany's only experience with an earthquake was when she'd watch one of that horrible end of the world flicks, where Los Angeles or New York would sadly be the target.

Tiffany found Jack, staring deeply out the window to his courtyard and saw not a sign of life in his home. His classmates must have flocked out of the mansion in the midst of the quake – but of course, the damage had been done. An utter and complete catastrophe lingered in his backyard and from this high point, he could even see how the rest of the city was affected and it simply didn't look to well.

"I can't believe this," Tiffany approached the window, gazing outward; "This place is a complete mess."

"I don't care – we have insurance. I'm just glad we are alright," Jack turned over to Tiffany and looked very concerned, "You okay? I know you haven't been through an earthquake or anything like it."

She nodded. "I'm fine – thanks for helping me. I'd probably be a hysterical mess if I wasn't around someone who knew what to do. Now I know what to expect with future earthquakes."

"Let's get out of here," When Jack found himself coming to the door's edge, pushing it open wasn't exactly easy for the athletic and muscular football player – even he had trouble, eventually using his shoulder to pry the down open but nothing was working, "Damn – now the door's stuck too. What the hell are we going to do?"

"Call 911?"

Her suggestion was reasonable but surely wouldn't work in this situation, "There's over four million people living in this city and by the time they come to us – basically, it would take forever. We can get out of her by ourselves."

As Jack was walking to the window, Tiffany noticed Jack was walking oddly. He limped his way and Tiffany figured something was wrong so she quickly came from behind, "Jack, your limping. Is something bothering you? You should take a seat for a moment and relax. We'll get out of here."

His limping was a bit of a problem so he indeed took Tiffany's advice and took a seat on his bed, with Tiffany who joined him. Once the two were seated, there was this awkward silence that had suddenly emerged while Jack nursed his injury and Tiffany kept her hands folded in her lap. Jack's eyes wandered and quickly came across the scars that had remained on one of Tiffany's wrists. It scared him to see that such a beautiful girl would inflict pain on her.

He had to ask, "Tiffany, why do you do it? Why are you cutting yourself?"

In response to his question, she pulled down the sleeves covering her scars. There was no appreciation with the questions that were being asked, especially coming from him. It bothered her that he couldn't possible figure out why she was doing this all.

"Like I said before, I don't cut myself and what I choose to do is absolutely none of your business Jack. I'd appreciate it if you stopped asking me about me these things constantly. It's none of your business."

"Don't just sit her and lie to me," His voice was much softer – showing more concern than he usually does, "I know what you're doing and I'm not going to act like I don't care about you when I do. I'm worried about you. Why can't you just tell me the truth? Why do you do this to yourself?"

It slowly angered her, which would eventually give Jack what he was looking for.

"You want the truth Jack," While his voice got softer, her voice was much louder, "Yes, I do and you know very well why I've been doing this. Jack, are you blind? Have you not gone around and see the things that have happened to me over the course of these past few months. I've been humiliated wherever I go because of what? I don't even know what I did. To this day, I still don't have an idea what I did or what I did to deserve any of this. When you came along, I actually thought I found a friend. I thought I found someone even more in you but we all know how that turned out."

He genuinely began to feel remorse for the young girl – who had been through a lot over the past few months and he was a source of where she was acquiring the pain. She paused for that moment, just when tears jerked out of her eyes and gently down her cheeks, one by one.

"I don't even want to be here anymore. I wanted to just take the first flight back to Louisiana so I don't have to deal with this anymore because I just can't. I'm not strong enough. I'm just a useless human being who has no purpose – I only serve the purpose to be a walking target for people's practically jokes. All I want is a normal life. I want people to like me for me. This past of our lives – it's supposed to be the greatest time of our lives, where we live risk free and don't have to worry about anything but I do. When I walk into school every morning, I worry about what may happen to me, what practically joke I may be the victim of or if I'll be called a whore or a slut today. I don't want to be like that. I want to come in with a smile and actually enjoy my final year of high school. I want a normal life – that's it."

Her choice to open up to him was certainly surprising, seeing as he was one of the reasons why she was like this. An apology was all he could offer, "I'm sorry Tiffany and I mean it this time. I'm not just saying it because I'm supposing too. But I really feel horrible. I was a jerk. I thought I was doing it because it would be funny and cool. It's not and it bothers me the most that it took me this long to figure out what the hell was going on. You don't have to accept my apology because heck, I wouldn't if I was in your position but I'm sorry for everything I've done. If I could go back, I'd change what I did and I seriously mean that."

When she finally faced Jack, her mind told her that she couldn't believe him – that this was all a trick but her heart told her a different story, one she much wanted to hear. Jack was genuinely speaking to her and finally, Jack had become a much different human being to her in this time.

"I forgive you. I can't move on with my life if I don't forgive and let things go."

A smile had curved onto his lips, feeling the appreciation that he could finally be forgiven. Tiffany would go on to do something odd, she leaned forward and embraced the much large individual. Her head rested on his shoulder but Jack's hand didn't know what he should exactly do until he ultimately wrapped them around, squeezing her body. He traveled up to her ear and whispered, "I'm going to make sure you have a normal life," And she believed him, "Let me get you home too. I know you're parents are wondering where you are."

A sweet and warming smile etched across her lips – something told her this wasn't going to be another prank.

* * *

"Well, this sucks."

Cody gazed down at the door before him – he couldn't pull nor push the door open. His brain than had concluded that obviously, the door must be blockaded by something – assuming it was something from the unpleasant earthquake that came rolling through a few moments ago.

This left Cody Rhodes in a very tough situation and unaware of what he should do right now. His cellphone was dead so he couldn't call for help. It left him with the choice and it wasn't one he really liked – play the waiting game.

When all hope was lost, Cody suddenly heard a thumping noise coming from the other side of the locker room. Following the obstructive noise, he led him to a petite brunette who was slamming her fists against the blue steel down. She'd even cry out for help, "Can anybody here me? I'm trapped!"

"I hear you loud and clear."

The brunette suddenly froze. Twisting her body around, it was a sigh of relief to find Cody standing right behind her. She feared it may have been another individual but was actually thrilled to find Cody standing right before her, "It's only you – at first, I thought I may have been trapped with some creep. What are you doing in here?"

"I was changing when the quake started. I've been trying to look for another way out of here but I haven't had much luck. I can see you have been making some progress – I can hear the crowds of people flocking to the door already."

The sarcasm wasn't much appreciated by Eve who only wanted to leave, "I left my cell phone in my car so I can't even call anybody. Have you got anything? A phone or anything?"

"It's dead. The one day I don't decide to charge my phone, it dies. I've got all the luck on my side."

Letting out a loud groan in response to Cody's revelation, Eve took a seat down on the bench, "Today is just horrible. This day isn't going as I planned it would."

Showing a little concern, the raven haired male joined the brunette, "What's bothering you? You can talk to me."

The invitation to help comfort her was nice gesture. It bothered her that all of a sudden he had been so caring but when she was isolated in school and no one would talk to her, he would never say a word. Should he expect that all of a sudden she'd be friendly towards him as if nothing ever happened between the two of them? She couldn't let him get away this easily.

"Don't act so damn caring all of a sudden," She pushed him away. Cody received the vibe that Eve had grown angry toward him, for a reason he wouldn't know, "Don't be so friendly toward me when for the past few months you acted like I was completely invisible. Who are you to jump to my rescue and comfort me when you were nowhere to be found when I was made a complete fool of at school? Don't start playing the role of a hero all of a sudden."

Eve was right. Reflecting for a moment, he thought about his actions over the past few months. True – he didn't act like a real friend, even if they had once dated but he had his set of problems. He was in love with a girl who was in love with another guy and didn't know who she wanted. She thought her life was tough: she should have seen the mess he had endured and now he was left with nothing.

"You know you are right. I should have been there for you and I'm sorry for all of that but I've been through an entire mess of my own. Do you know what it's like to be in love with a girl who you couldn't have? We wanted to be together but she was the one who was unsure. Now he found out about everything and she went running after him. That tells me everything I need to know – she's made up her mind and wants to be with him. You know where that leaves me. All alone."

Now she regretted letting her anger out on him in the first place. Without any prior knowledge, she just want off on him and he didn't deserve it. It was now her turn to apologize.

"I'm sorry Cody for just going off on you like that. I wasn't thinking at all and I shouldn't have acted like that. If you don't mind me asking but who's the girl?"

He was a little cautious of revealing who it was but he didn't want to lie any longer, "You know her. It's Kelly."

She was taken aback by the name he had just mentioned. Never in her mind would she think the two of them would be engaging in a relationship but it didn't matter to her. Cody was hurt and she felt terrible for him, "I didn't see that coming but what happened?"

"It's a really long story but seeing as we'll be here for a long time, I might as well tell you," Cody cleared his throat, "Junior night, Kelly and I kissed after I told her how I was feeling. Evan suspected something and confronted me. He got trapped in the fire but I saved her from the fire. Evan was in the coma and I wanted to be with her so badly. We spent the entire summer together and I thought this is how it would be until the first day of school when Evan showed up and he was okay. After all of that, she didn't know who she wanted to be with. Kelly said she wants to be with me but now Evan walk in on the two of us and discovered that we were secretly hiding a relationship. Kelly chooses to run after him and here I am, left completely and utterly alone. She made her choice Eve so I give up on this. She doesn't want to be with me and she made it known."

Eve clutched his hand tightly with her hand and softly said, "I'm so sorry," Genuinely, she did feel horrible for him; "I understand how you feel. I think we are both in very similar situations, if you ask me."

It was a confusing statement that Eve had brought forward. Cody always thought she was happy, now that she was with Ted.

"You're with Ted – how is my situation similar to yours?"

"Ted is a really good person. He has a wonderful heart but I know. I know he's still in love with Maryse and how does that make me feel? I'm with a man whose still in love with another girl. Trust me; our situations are more alike than you think."

"What are you taking about Eve? He loves you; he's over Maryse. I don't know what you're worrying about."

She found it sweet that he didn't want her to give up but she had to accept the truth, whether she liked it or not, "You're sweet but Cody, I know. I see the way he still looks at her. A few days ago, I was planning on losing it – you know what I meant by it, right?" Cody nodded. It was code word for losing her virginity, "I thought Ted was the one but he didn't. I knew exactly what he was thinking after he left. He knew it was wrong and he deserves to be with Maryse. She's still in love with him and he's still in love with her. I can't pretend that I don't know that."

Their situations were definitely alike. Cody wrapped his hand around her shoulder, offering some comfort, "Sorry to hear that. I can't believe we are in really similar situations. It's kind of funny a bit."

She smirked, "It is. With the whole virginity thing, I never really imagined that I'd lose it to Ted. You know, I always thought you would be the guy I'd have my first time with," She laughed, "I was really thinking about it but then we broke up so I thought maybe it wasn't meant to happen."

An awkward silence entered the air and Cody found his head turning around and facing Eve. She looked beautiful. He wondered how much of an amazing girl she really was and how it was a little sad that he had ended their relationship. Eve gazed into Cody's eyes and felt that feeling come rushing back – the same one she received when she first met Cody and couldn't figure out an explanation why it was happening.

The two wouldn't be able to explain what was about to happen next.

Cody had made the first approach by laying a gentle kiss directly onto her plump beautiful lips. In response to the kiss, her hands traveled and made contact with Cody's cheeks. He continued to taste the raspberry lip gloss she had previously applied. Cody was always a gentle kisser and this was another reminder of how she first fell for him. The image of Ted had quickly exited her mind as Cody continued.

Much to Cody's surprise, he could feel Eve tugging on his shirt wanting to pull it off. He broke the kiss for a moment, allowing the Latina to do as she pleased and immediately kissed her, after taking in a deep breath. Her eyes remained closed as she was reminded of how she loved the kisses Cody would provide. Ted's were a little rough for her taste but Cody were just right.

Though she was doing something wrong, it never felt so right. Eve had always imagined that she'd lose her virginity to someone special and Cody was special. He was something more.

"Not here," He whispered into her ear, "Let's go in there."

Cody grabbed her hand and led her into the vacant office, which provided a couch as well. The two stood right before one another, staring into each other's eyes as they both realized what was about to happen. Eve had her mind set – Cody was the one she did imagine she'd lose it too. Cody looked into her eyes and pressed his lips against hers once more. Moving their bodies to the couch, Cody kicked the door closed with his free leg. Any thought of Kelly exited the room when the door was closed as well as any thought of Ted went along with it.

The moment had come and Eve couldn't have picked a better person to share it with.

* * *

The shaking had come to an abrupt end but when Torrie would open her eyes, she'd find that it wasn't really over. Her home had come down to shambles. Destruction and grief was made known in the mess that was created. The sound of her daughter crying and the look on John's face as he watched over the catastrophe that had lay upon them.

Leaving his wife and daughter behind, John quickly rushed over to where Randy and Nathan would be lying in. Pulling off the objects that had fallen on top of them, John would only hope that he could recover both his friend and son in one piece. As he dug his way through, he discovered his son who did look a little hurt but was alive and well. He quickly jumped into his father's arms and John could finally feel relieved that he was well.

"Thank god you're okay," John continued with the embrace, "Go to your mother and you guys stay under the table. Now go!"

He didn't talk back at all and did as he was told too and ran to the table where he was greeted by an embrace by his mother. Torrie looked out, as she was now holding both her children and looked on in despair now hoping that Randy would be okay, "Is he okay?" The concern was clear in her voice.

As John dug through the pile, he was getting deeper and deeper and the deeper he got, the more Randy's body was being exposed. He was lucky. John pulled Randy's body out of the ruble and set him onto a clear part of the living room floor. From head to toe, cuts covered his face and arms. Eyes closed and no movement; John placed two fingers against Randy's neck and had trouble locating his pulse. It was difficult to find as it was extremely weak.

"We need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible. Torrie, call 911 immediately!"

Looking down on Nathan, she gently said, "Nathan, you stay here with your sister. Do not move from this spot okay? I'm just going to call the hospital."

Nathan was always good at instruct and did as he was told. Torrie took the time to head into the kitchen and she pulled up the house phone. Dialing 911, she quietly waited until someone had finally answered the phone.

"911 – What's your emergency?"

"My friend – he's seriously injured. The ceiling caved in my home and he fell right on top of him. He's not responding to any of us and he's badly hurt. You need to send help immediately."

"Okay Miss – just tell me you're location and I'll send an ambulance you're way."

"27 North Elm drive. Please, you need to hurry!"

Hanging up the phone, Torrie placed her back against the wall and slowly slid down. She couldn't help but feel partial to blame for all of this. Randy was hurt now but she was so grateful for the sacrifice he had just made. Saving Nathan from any harm and putting himself on the line for him? And her she was keeping such a huge secret from him. She'd drawn a conclusion about herself – she was just a horrible person.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

Her house wasn't affected much by the earthquake as many of the Ouellet prized possessions still remained intact. It was when she had come outside she'd discover the massive damage that was done to Beverly Hills and the city alone. Ted and her walked side by side down the empty Beverly Hills street. Looking off the hills, the city of Los Angeles laid in ruin with fires breaking out, the sirens echoing through her ears and the cracks in the ground. The city wouldn't be the same. They could have stayed in her home but Ted was desperate to check on his friends and Maryse didn't want to leave him alone.

"Can you believe this? I've never experienced something like this before," He gazed out on the damage that was brought forth with the wicked disaster, "I been through those small ones but this is insane."

"When I was really little, we had a huge one. My next door neighbors at the time even died. They were in their garage when it caved in. They had a daughter who was left all alone. It was so sad," Her previous experience with an earthquake had taught her the extent of damage one could do to anybody.

Though the earthquake was on her mind, Maryse wanted an answer from Ted. His apology did mean a lot to her but there was still so much that was left unanswered, "Ted, I know you already explained a little bit before but why were you angry that night – junior night? Did I do something?"

The fact was he was angry at her and though it was the past, she wanted to know and he decided to let her know.

"I was angry and I was angry at you. I'm not someone who really opens up about much. You know that already. I had come to a point where I really trusted you and I thought I could tell you everything," The two had suddenly stopped walking and remained in the streets with only the street light above offering some light, "When Eve was telling me everything I said, I assumed you told her and I got really upset. I wanted to get back at you so badly and I thought this would be the way and I didn't even know you came in. I was stupid – My anger got in the way of everything and it sounds so stupid right now."

The revelation was surprising. Maryse was somewhat at fault for what had happened. If she had just kept her mouth shut, this wouldn't have happened, "Ted, I'm so sorry. This was actually my fault. If I kept my mouth shut –"

"No!" He said out loud. He faced her directly, eye to eye, "I don't want you to think that. It wasn't you're fault. I don't want you to go on thinking that this is your entire fault. It's my issues and problems I can't face. Don't blame yourself or anyone. None of this wouldn't have happened if I didn't make such a stupid decision. You and I – I think we'd even still be together if I hadn't done what I did."

Hearing him so those words was a little surprising and Maryse wouldn't expect him to go on and say all of that, "You think we would have still been together?"

He nodded, "Yes, I honestly believe that you and I would probably still be together right at this moment.

She smiled softly. The revelation wasn't how she expected things to turn out. Ted opened up a lot more than she had expected too. The light had shined onto the dark situation as everything began to finally make sense. Ted's head tilted downward in shame. Shame and disgust consumed body for the moment. The suddenly, he felt a caring touch. Maryse locked her hand into his. He looked forward right into her delicate eyes. He'd be surprised by what would happen next when Maryse wrapped her arms around large body. A simple hug was all it took to finally feel her problems depart. Ted, in response to the situation, wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. The light from the lamp post shined down onto them.

"I forgive you."

The whisper in his ear took all conflict and sent it away. The two could finally look past everything that they had endured and focus onto a much more important issue – rebuilding the relationship they had once shared.

Maryse wanted to be with him but she wasn't going to ruin Ted and Eve's relationship to get what she wanted. If it was meant to be, it would happen.

Ending the embrace, Ted's eyes traveled to a building in the distance. His hand was still interlocked with hers, Ted guided Maryse into the direction he wished to travel too. What he would discover would surely stun him.

"Check out West Beverly."

Their very school had remained in ruins. An entire mess had unfolded upon their school because of the earthquake that had occurred. Windows remained shattered, the sing that laid above the school's front entrance came down in shambles and the lamp posts around the school came down.

The earthquake may have been bad but the aftershock had remained.

"It's completely destroyed."

Ted assessed the damage and found the parking lot was still occupied and two familiar cars still remained. He recognized both Eve and Cody's car still remaining in the parking lot, "That's Eve's car and Cody's. There still somewhere here, I bet."

"Where can they be?" Asked Maryse, who surprisingly showed concern for the two, "Maybe there in the school or maybe the locker room?"

"Let's check it out – they have to be here somewhere."

* * *

"…_The 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck somewhere around the hour of 10:03pm, leaving utter destruction and chaos throughout the city of Angels. The trembles were felt as far as San Francisco but only affected the immediate Los Angeles metro area. Countless fires have broken out throughout the city and the emergency lines are clogged with several calls for help. Local hospitals are filled with victims of the earthquakes. The Mayor recently announced that this may have been one of the worst earthquakes to strike the city in the past twenty years, as he declared a state of emergency. Officials believe the number of casualties will reach into the thousands. Please continue to stay with Channel four news as we cover the earthquake…"_

The only television left in the beach club had made the announcement, until it came crashing down and shattered against the surface. Nikki Bella wasn't too focused on trying to listen to the news that was present but concentrated on removing the giant chandler that had collapsed onto Dolph. With the strength that remained in Nikki, she pulled the object off his injured body.

As soon as it was removed, she rushed to his side. Her hand gently patted down onto his head and pulled back his strands of blonde hair. She looked down upon him and feared the worse. As she learned in her health class, she placed two fingers upon his neck and searched for a pulse. Luckily, she located it and was relieved to know he was still alive but the weak beat wasn't providing much support.

Down on her knees, she took in his ice cold hand and tried her best to warm it up. Brushing her breath against the hand and rubbing the hands together – she couldn't lose him. Dolph was a good person – it just took her a little more to figure it out. The way he would just risk his life to put his forth. He wasn't a jerk. He was a hero, if the question was asked to her.

She received a chance. Nikki received a chance to finally let Dolph know about everything.

"I don't think you hear me but I think I should let you know something – you deserve that. When I first met you, I thought you were this jerk and when I saw you in pain, it made me realize you aren't a jerk. You're a good person with such a big heart. If I took the chance to really discover who you are, we wouldn't be in this mess. When I finally figured out who you really are, I couldn't stop thinking about you. You remained etched in my mind and I couldn't let you go. I had to let you know something and I don't know if you're going to hear me but I'm going to say it. I think I'm falling for you."

She finally said it. It took such an event, such a conflict to make her realize the truth and how it could no longer be avoided. There's a saying and it goes a little something like this: The truth will set you free and free she felt as her true emotions were made known.

Small droplets had exited her ears and traveled down her cheeks, "I can't lose you Dolph and that's why you've got to wake up. I'd be lost without you and you need to come back to me. Please, just come back to me."

Her head crashed down for a moment, staring at the blank ground when she felt a sudden movement in his hand. Looking up, she found Dolph's eyes openly slowly but weakly. His eyes toured what was around him, until he found who was sitting right beside him, "Nikki, is that you?"

She spoke with such joy in her voice, "It's me Dolph."

With the strength that remained in his body, he pulled himself up enough to be at matching heights with Nikki. Immediately, he made contact with her beautiful brown orbs, "Nikki, what's going on?"

"I need to talk. Let me talk Dolph," She had insisted, "I'm sorry I had hurt you like that. It took for something like this to happen to finally realize that I think I'm falling for you."

The words he never expected to utter out of her mouth actually flooded out of her lips. He was left completely stunned about it all and found himself in a difficult position. This is how it feels to finally get the girl you've been dying to have. He didn't want to explain but show it instead. They remained inches apart until Dolph closed the gap between the two and sealed it with a kiss. The feeling could only be explained in one word: amazing. The wait was well worth it and the two couldn't have picked a better situation to finally reveal their true feelings.

Pulling away from the kiss, the two were both able to release a breath of air. Their eyes had remained locked at one another.

"This is all I want Dolph. Just tell me that you want to be with me?" Nikki asked.

The blonde had remained silent and smiled afterwards, "I thought the kiss had spoken for itself."

Dolph was being himself and in response to that, she awarded him with another kiss – a much deeper and long lasting one.

Moments went by and eventually the kiss was broken. Nikki helped Dolph get back onto his feet, even though he was still a little hurt from the injuries he sustained from the lighting fixture that had fallen on top of him. He winced in pain when Nikki touched the side of his wounded body, "You're hurt Dolph – let me take you to the hospital."

"The hospital's a mile away and neither of us have a car."

"We'll walk," She answered simply, "So it's a mile away and I have my heels on? I don't care. You're going," Nikki let him know as he took her arm and placed it over her shoulder giving her an edge. She wasn't going to lose him again. She was going to stay right by him and make sure he was okay.

Dolph looked over at Nikki and found the determined look imprinted on her face. She was determined more than ever and loved that about her. It was probably one of the reasons he fell for her in the first place. After so long, Dolph finally got the girl of his dreams – that girl he could never catch, was finally caught.

* * *

Evan was left frozen for a moment, just as the trembles had come to an end. He stopped and stared, examining the situation that was at hand. There she remained, motionless on the dark pavement as the car that struck her was no longer in motion. During his pause, he tried to digest if this was real or if this was some sort of dream. Once he had snapped back in reality, it hit him.

"Kelly!" Cried out male. Evan rushed over to the scene and bent right beside Kelly. Her beautiful face was now composed of cuts and scratches. Not a single movement lingered in her body as the time passed. Now, Evan felt responsible for all that had happened. His actions had led to this and now Kelly could possibly die because of him.

"Kelly, say something. Are you there?" On his knees, he held onto her body in his hands staring into the closed eyes, "You've got to say something to me – anything. I need to know if you're okay."

Not a single response.

"This is my entire fault. If I hadn't run off and talked to you like a civil person, none of this would have happened. Why am I such an idiot sometimes? What if something happens to you – I'll never be able to forgive myself if anything happens to you," His heart opened up, "I love you too much to just let you go like this. I'm not giving up on you. If you don't pull through this, I don't know what I'll be able to do with myself. You need to wake up."

Nothing was clearly working – Kelly needed medical attention as soon as possible. He panicked around, not finding a cell phone on him or on Kelly. How could he get help without any form of communication?

He wasn't a strong man – he had a strong heart though. Scooping Kelly off the ground, he gently left her laying on the green grass on the side. Rushing over to the vehicle that had crashed before, he discovered the lifeless body. A man remained in the passenger seat with his eyes opened and not moving whatsoever. Digging into the man's pocket, he searched for a cell phone as the smell of alcohol filled Evan's air. Nodding in disappointment, he realized why he crashed in the first place. No luck in finding a cell phone so his only hoped remained in waving down someone who was passing by.

Now it seemed his luck was finally taking a turn for the better. The bright lights of a large SUV popped down the block and Evan quickly ran in the middle of the street, waving to get their attention.

"Pull over!" Waving his hands like a maniac, he mentioned to get the car to pull over and the two individuals who occupied the car came out, "I need your help!"

"Evan, dude – is that you?"

He knew that voice. The tall blonde haired man stood beside a shorter blonde who looked very worried, "Jack and Tiffany – thank god it's you guys!"

"What's going on Evan?" Tiffany asked with the sign of concern present in her voice, "Is everything okay?"

"No!" He rushed over to Kelly's body and showed them what had happened, "Kelly and I were fighting and then this drunk driver came by and hit Kelly and now she's not responding," He was growing very frustrated, placing his hands on his head in agony, "And now she's dying and the last thing I told her was I didn't want nothing to do with her and –"

Emotions were getting the best of him but Tiffany ran over to her classmate quickly comforting him, "We'll take her to the hospital – you and Jack load her in the back seat and the hospitals a short drive from her. She's going to be fine Evan, I promise."

Tiffany opened up the back seat door as Jack and Evan loaded her into the back of the vehicle. Evan remained with her in the back seat, keeping her head resting on his lap. Jack turned the car around and headed for the hospital.

As time was running out, Evan concentrated his concern to the blonde who remained lifeless beside him. Evan's initial fear had been if he loses her, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. Kelly had to be okay – she just had too.

* * *

_A/N:_ And the Saga continues.  
I only have one question: Did anyone see a Cody & Eve reunion coming? :) Things are certainly going to be shaken up.  
I believe we'll have one more chapter that goes along with this, maybe a fourth - not sure yet.  
Also, I have a new story called **NOT LIKE THE MOVIES** with **Justin Gabriel & Kelly Kelly** - i'd so appreciate it if you guys would check it out.  
I wanted to try a new pairing - new year, new ideas :)  
Thanks for reading and please leave a review.  
Take care xx

_Next Chapter - Torrie gets in touch with Stacy and Eve & Cody are found._


	36. Aftershock Part II

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty Six _- Aftershock Part II

There was no taking this back. Concealing her body with the shirt she once wore, Eve's orbs laid imprinted on Cody who was assembling the clothing that had hung over him. Eve had both her arms and legs crossed while her mind accepted that she had slept with Cody.

The only odd thing about the situation was she didn't feel bad, as she initially thought she would. Breath after breath, she wondered why she was thinking like this. Eve committed the worse deed possible – cheating on her boyfriend with his best friend. And why she didn't feel the guilt – that was something she didn't have an answer too.

With her free finger, she tugged the lock of hairs behind her ear and tried to keep a strong and confident content expression but much wasn't working. When he turned around, Cody and Eve's eyes met one another. His shirt slid over his body and soon after Eve found himself making his way toward him. He joined her beside the couch and his hand crawled forward and rested upon her lap. His lips made a funny shape when they pursed and he awaited for her to say something.

"Cody," Softly she spoke, "You can't say anything to anybody about this. You know as well as I know that this would crush Ted. I want to tell Ted but it's going to take some time. I just need to figure this whole thing out and once it's straight up, I'm going to tell him. I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

"This isn't your fault."

He felt the blame should be cast on him as well but she refused for that to happen, "No – if I hadn't been so open and told you everything none of this would have happened and we wouldn't be in this situation."

"I'm not going to let you blame yourself – that isn't the right thing to do. I did wrong as well. I'm supposed to begin a relationship with Kelly and I basically betrayed her. We both made our faults and it isn't right that we blame one another for this when clearly, we are both at fault. I'm going to tell Kelly, if I actually know how this situation is going to be handled. I have to see what she wants and if it's what I think it is, I'll be kicked to the curb."

"Don't give up – Kelly may really want to be with you and you just need to think about what is going to go on. You're going to be fine and you know, if you ever need some advice – you can come to be anytime. I miss having you around."

He smiled, "I missed you too."

Suddenly, a huge noise erupted through the hallway. Both individuals were startled. Cody quickly lifted his hand up and his eyes went to the door, as did Eve who were both very well surprised to see who was standing there.

"Eve, Cody? What the – you guys have been in here?"

Well, this would be surprising and somewhat awkward – that's when Maryse came in. Ted and Maryse remained still up against the door's side while Maryse and Eve shared a emotionless glance at one another. Eve rose to her feet and was greeted by a hug from Ted, "You found us – we can finally get out of here."

"We saw both your cars parked outside and we figured you guys were nearby and luckily we managed to get the door there unjammed and got in. What were you guys doing in here and how'd you get in here?"

"Well," Cody began, "She was looking for you and couldn't find you so she came into the locker room and the earthquake struck. Somehow, I managed to find her somewhere in this mess and we couldn't get out but damn, am I glad to see the two of you."

Though she was relieved to see Ted was alright, Eve grew extremely suspicious. Why in earth was Maryse with him? Her eyes traveled across the room, watching the blonde who was staring at her cell phone. She didn't want to propose the question right there but selected to remained silent for the moment until a much time to ask Ted.

In the midst of the silent, Maryse released a gasp as she read a message from her cell phone, "Nikki sent me a message. Dolph and Kelly are both at the hospital," As she placed the phone down, she looked at her friends, "We have to go."

"Is that even a question? Of course we'll go," When Cody said that, the four of them had come to an agreement and selected to visits their friends who were in peril. For Eve, she finally felt the unity she once shared with them, even with their differences.

* * *

"I'm just happy you're okay."

It was a set of words Dolph always heard – from his mother who called, his father who stopped by and now Nikki was spilling out the words as the two sat beside one another on a vacant hospital bed. The twin's hand would make its way over to Dolph, clutching it in the process.

"I was so worried about you but I'm so happy you're fine and if it wasn't for my courageous effort, you wouldn't be here," She had to slip in something to bring herself high and mighty, "All I care about is that your breathing, you have a pulse and you're with me."

"Is this the part I thank you for saving my life?" Asked the injured football player – he titled his body just a little but could already feel the sharp streaks of pain traveling through his body, "This is going to hurt a lot in the morning."

A smirk elevated to her lips, "How about I play nurse?"

The comment screamed sexual innuendos. His smile suddenly appeared clearer than before, "You want to nurse me?"

"Dolph, you better get your mind straight and stop taking everything in a sexual reference. I'm going to help you for the next few days – Anyways, I am you're girl."

The sound of that was a sweet melody into his ears. His girl. He finally got the chance to call her his girl and nothing else. Nikki was now with him and he had the chance to actually call her his girlfriend.

He finally got what he wanted with a price but it was all worth the price.

* * *

The hospital walls had confined her from moving around. Her eyes fluttered open and she was greeted by silence and air. She was in a hospital bed. The noise coming from outside was disturbing but even with the noise, she could think straight and she thought of one guy: Evan.

_If you know somehow well enough, you'll know a thing a two about them. You may know about their favorite hobbies, pet peeves, favorite colors and what they love on their hotdog unless they are a vegetarian. Kelly knew a thing or two about Evan. One thing she knew was that he loved this small private beach, just ten minutes out of Beverly Hills and Kelly was there – hoping that maybe with all knowledge of the free spirit boy, she'd find him here._

_Her silver car pulled into a parking spot, just with the sunset coming down and the tide beginning to climb up onto the shore. The next moment she was out and found a empty beach, with only the exception of a few surfers and a swimmer here and there. The closer she got to the edge of the cliff, she spotted someone not too far away; hands in pocket and that familiar dark hairstyle of his._

_Her feet would make these small little footprints in the sand and it would lead a trail to who she was looking for. He didn't feel her coming nor see her as he stood there, gazing into the Pacific Ocean. Kelly came right beside him and didn't move a muscle until she decided to say something._

_"I can see why you come here," He jumped. In his instant reaction, he faced her as she continued to speak, "This beach is just beautiful and really quiet and calm unlike those other ones back home."_

_Those lips of his pursed together and he nodded, "How'd you know I was here? Did you go to my house and ask my mom our something?"_

_"Well, for the past year and a half, I've learned a thing about you. I know you like baseball, You prefer mustard on your hamburger than ketchup and I know you love to come to this beach because it's the only beach that's close enough where you can actually her yourself think. I know the whole stereotype about Blondes being stupid but this blonde is an exception."_

_"Of course you aren't stupid; you're smart. You're also pretty damn good seeker in this whole game," Finally, he uttered a laugh, "And I guess you can say I'm a good hider too."_

_"Couldn't find you for weeks but as great of a hider you are, I'm just as a good seeker and whoever seeks something, will find it," A moment of silence emerged before she continued, "And that something I'm looking for is to talk to you."_

_His head, followed by his body made a ninety degree turn and those brown eyes of his locked onto hers, "So talk – it's what you came here to do."_

_It annoyed her by the way he was acting but obviously he wasn't in the right mind set or good mood, "I was hoping we can talk. That last time we talk – well, I can't say it went well because it didn't. It surely didn't."_

_"Have you come to open up that wound again? It was hard to sew it back up and I'm not going to get it opened up again," His heart was broken. He thought the moment he revealed it all to Kelly, that his heart was just going to break and it did. He never had a chance with her and it killed him that he knew that._

_"Give me a chance to talk Evan. You didn't give me a chance then and now you're not giving me a chance."_

_"I gave you a chance and you took it. You took me and crushed me," His voice was getting louder in strength and darker in tone, "I'm not a rag doll that you can just toss around like nothing. I'm a human being just like you."_

_He didn't want to listen and it annoyed her. His arrogance and expectation wasn't helping the situation. The best thing to do was to blurt it out since Evan wasn't going to let her do it on his terms, "Just listen to me."_

_"I'm sick of listening."_

_She's had enough. Enough was certainly enough at this point._

_"I feel the same way you do."_

_And at that moment, he stood there – frozen like a Popsicle and didn't move an inch. He wasn't sure if she said what he really though she had said. __She likes me too?__ And with that he paused. A silence emerged between the two. It was awkward but necessary for Evan to take in the news. She did kind of just toss it onto her but hey, it was the only way to just get her to say something._

_For that second, that moment he had, he took it all in. For once, a girl – a girl who he liked – felt the same exact way. He didn't know how to feel. Sad or Happy? Angry or Greatful? It was a mix of emotions but Happiness was standing out._

_Kelly had not an idea at all what she should do at the moment. She came closer to him and skimmed his cheek. Both gazing into their eyes and in an instant, something he'd be waiting for and something she'd wanted to do for a long time. As fast as the second past, Kelly took her smooth lips and pressed it against his. The moment itself was sweet and passionate._

_As the two pulled away, they both took in this moment. Both relieved and satisfied, this moment was the ever perfect moment._

_"Evan, I want this to work. I want a chance. I want a chance with you," She smiled, "I want to give this a shot. I finally want a normal relationship with a person I trust, a person I cherish and a person that cares about me just as much as I care about him."_

_And with that, Evan said, "I'll be him if you'll be mine," Her nodded set it all and they sealed it with another kiss. It appears to be true – good things come to those who wait._

And when she had finished thinking about him – she went on to somebody else who was just as close to her as Evan was: Cody.

_The reflection of the moonlight against the sea hadn't looked so beautiful before. The cool breeze brought the necessity of having a warm sweater. Lucky for Kelly, Cody had a big West Beverly sweater in his car for safe keeping._

_Was she a horrible person? Spending time outside the hospital wear her boyfriend is in exchange for spending time with someone you love just as much as your boyfriend? These questions didn't have an answer._

_Not too far away from the Santa Monica pier, Cody and Kelly walked along the shore line with the busy Santa Monica Pier sticking out behind them. It's been a much quieter summer than usual. Eve had completely disappeared without a trace and Kelly really only had Cody here and Maryse and Nikki sometimes – but mostly Cody was there._

_Walking side by side, Cody took Kelly's hand grasping it tightly. She liked it but then she realized she'd be betraying Evan. Come to think of it, these last past few weeks she been betraying him by kissing another boy, sleeping with another boy and now holding hands with another boy. Didn't make any sort of sense._

_Kelly snapped her hand away and of course, Cody didn't take it very well, "Why'd you snap your hand away like that? What's the matter?"_

_"This – this is what's the matter. We're whats the matter ."_

_"I didn't see you complaining about this when we kiss and when we –"_

_"Don't," Kelly stopped him from completing his sentence, "I know but it's wrong. Cody, I have a boyfriend who's laying in a hospital bed and hopeful will come out of his coma. I'm a horrible person. This is like worse than cheating."_

_He'd lie if he didn't feel bad himself. Evan was practically his best friend and he sat here doing this to him. It was wrong. It wasn't right and he wasn't being a good friend but he nor Kelly could control their feelings for one another. If they felt this way, they can't stop it. It's like it's meant to be._

_"I understand what you're going through. Evan's my best friend and I'm doing this to him – my own best friend? It bothers me too but you're worth it. You're worth it all. I wouldn't change a damn thing because that's how much you mean to me."_

_Kelly slowly turned toward Cody, looking him cold into the eyes, "You meant that? Do you really mean that?"_

_"I do – I could never tell you anything more true than that."_

_Looking right up his crystal eyes, she leaned forward placing a soft kiss right onto his lips. Cody took the Blonde right into her arms, firmly wrapping them around her waist and accepting her kiss. Their thoughts collided and only one thing was on each other's mind…_

_One another._

As her thoughts came to a close she had an even bigger decision on her hands – who did she really want to be with? Did she want to be with Cody or was Evan the person for her? She clearly didn't know and it did somewhat bother her that she couldn't grasp it. She couldn't really discover what she wanted and now fear grew that she may never find an answer to this question.

It was almost immediately afterward that not only did Evan come in but Cody as well – one behind each other and the two weren't exactly aware that they were in the same room as one another, until Evan turned around and found Cody standing before him.

Kelly didn't care but she wanted an answer – how did she end of here?

"What the hell happened to me? Why am I in the hospital?"

Evan could answer the question for her, "Well, there was an earthquake and suddenly in the middle of it, this car just lost control and struck you. The good news is that the doctor said you're going to make a full recovery and you've got nothing to worry about, but you will be in the hospital for a few days."

"Oh –"

An awkward silence appeared. It just consisted of stares coming from one another. Cody then finally spoke, "I'm glad you're okay Kelly. I'm just going to go get a drink and I'll be back."

And then Cody left. Once he disappeared, Evan came walking over to Kelly who was beginning to close her eyes and fall back into a deep sleep. As her eyes shut, her last glimpse was of Evan pulling a seat up beside her bed and sitting right beside her.

* * *

For Tiffany, this night was certainly a crazy night full of just about everything. The hospital finally started to calm down a little bit as the night went on. A peak at her cell phone, she could see the missed calls and the time had finally reached 2:00am – it was getting late. She descended down the hallway and thought about the events of the night. The earthquake, Jack's heartfelt apology and Kelly's accident – this was certainly a night she'd never forget.

Just as she turned the around the hallway, she bumped into a familiar face, "Oh Jack – sorry, I wasn't paying any attention on where I was going. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," He smiled, "Where are you off too?"

"I was just going to head home. My parents have been calling and it's only getting later and later. I better get home because they're going to call the police wondering if I'm dead or not."

"I'll drive you," The invitation was sweet, "I was supposed to take you home anyway so why don't I just take you home?"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm completely positive. It doesn't bother me or anything so let's a get a move on," He guided her down the hallway, toward the exit, "I want to make sure you get home safety and don't get stuck in some aftershock. I can't lose you Tiffany."

His comment created a smile to elevate across her lips. Jack was officially a changed person – nothing else must be said. Jack Swagger had a warm heart and Tiffany could now finally see that."

* * *

The raindrops filled the window of Stacy's apartment. Another night of rain, similar to every other night in Seattle and like every night, Stacy suffered from her usual insomnia. She couldn't sleep to put it in its easiest form and getting some sort of rest was always a challenge every single night. Turning her body, she faced the window and pondered as she did every night while her children slept quietly next door.

She grew upset. She wasn't getting any rest or anything anytime soon. Launching her arm forward, she pulled the television remote and turned it on. Nothing was on as she flipped through the channels. Nothing was certainly going on – that was until she stopped at one channel.

The news reporter was in Los Angeles. The text on the bottom of the screen read out that an earthquake had occurred in the vicinity. The reporter, who seemed extremely worried, went on with her report.

"_I'm live on the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga where the earthquake had hit the hardest. Areas in and around the Hollywood and Beverly Hills area were deeply impacted by the natural disaster. Countless people are feared dead while many have been rushed to local hospitals, which are now completed full over capacity. This has been the worst quake to hit the city in years and it's expected that this could cost the city millions of dollars in clean up. As the night continues, Channel four news will stay and keep everyone updated on what's going on –"_

"Oh my god –"

Her response was certainly appropriate for the situation. She began to worry, thinking about her friends that were there and finally someone came back into her mind after so long. Randy was on her mind. Rising up from her bed she slowly began to wonder if he was okay or if he was hurt. As much as she didn't want to do this, she choose to do something different instead of contacting him directly.

Picking up her phone, she scrolled down and selected Torrie's name. As the dial tone began, Stacy pulled it up to her ear and waited to hear Torrie's voice.

"Hello?"

The frill voice that belonged to Torrie foreshadowed that something wasn't well. Gathering the strength, she spoke, "Torrie, it's Stacy. I hear something happened; there was an earthquake down there. Is that true?"

It felt sweet to hear Stacy's sweet and how concerned she sounded. Torrie knew why exactly she called, "This huge earthquake came through and oh my god – this was just the worse. We're all fine but Stacy, I have some bad news."

_Bad news? _Mrs. Cena wasn't much of the bearer of bad news but by the sound of it, Stacy was growing more and more concern. This wasn't going to be good at all – she knew that.

"Torrie, tell me what happened?"

It was now or never, "Randy got seriously hurt," There she said it and at the moment, Stacy's eyes grew much watery than usually and took in the information that was given to her, "We were at my home when the earthquake happened and Randy got seriously hurt. We don't know what's going on but it's really serious. He's in surgery now and they're asking for you."

Her large heart sunk into her chest as the grim words had been announced and now she had a reason to worry. He was hurt. What she had to expect out of this? She didn't know but feared this wasn't going to go too well. Pulling herself together, Stacy proceeded to ask more questions.

"He's hurt and their asking for me? Wait, why are they asking for me?"

The rasping voice of Torrie's wasn't providing much comfort. Torrie closed her eyes and when she had released her eyelids, tears streamed down, "The doctors don't know what's wrong with him but he sustained a serious head injury and their worried that he may be incapacitated permanently. They need to you come down here because you're in charge of what happens – Randy left you in charge of that decision. He should be out of surgery soon and you need to get down here – as soon as you can!"

Her arm couldn't keep the phone up and her hand quickly came crashing down which held her phone, "Stacy? Are you there? Stacy?"

She didn't respond.

She shut her phone off and her hands crashed into her face. The waterworks began as did thoughts of Randy emerge.

_"I believe, that the bride and Groom have written their own special vows," The priest presented as Stacy was scheduled to begin, by taking out her small piece of paper, with her vows._

_"Randy, When I look at you, I feel my heart thump just like it was when I first met you, back in Mrs. Collins seventh grade class. I love you more than anything. My Life would be nothing complete without someone with a heart of gold like yours. You're the air I breathe and you're the one person that keeps me going in life. I want to spend my whole Life with you and there's no one better to spend it with, then my Best friend. Randy, you're my everything. Your all I ever wanted and more and I love you more than anything in this world and Nothing can or ever will change that," Stacy placed the paper down as she smiled at Randy._

_"Randy, Your turn."_

_Randy didn't write anything down. It was all written down in his mind, "Stacy, You are my strive in life. You keep me going in Life. Without you, I would be nothing. Your smile brightens my day, your kindness keeps me strong and your loving and caring attitude makes me more in love with you than ever. I want to be everything. I will be all that you want. I will be your best friend. I will be the man of your dreams and I will be your husband. I will hold onto your hand as we walk on this journey of life together, not looking back but looking forward to it all, not forgetting the words I say on this day. I could never leave a day without you. You're all that I want and your everything I'll ever need," Randy smiled at his Bride. He was in love._

_"Let us continued the vows," The priest said, "Do you Randy take Stacy to be your wife – to live together after God's ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"_

_"I do."_

_"Do you Stacy take Randy to be your husband – to live together after God's ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"_

_"I do."_

_"It is now time for the rings," The priest said as John handed Randy the ring as Torrie did the same for Stacy, "Randy, in placing this ring on Stacy's finger, repeat after me: Stacy, you are now consecrated to me as my wife from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed."_

_"Stacy, you are now consecrated to me as my wife from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed," Randy stated with a smile, as he slide on the Gold ring onto Stacy's finger._

_"Stacy, in placing this ring on Randy's finger, repeat after me: Randy, you are now consecrate to me as my husband from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed," Said the Priest._

_"Randy, you are now consecrate to me as my husband from this day forward and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed," Said Stacy, as she slide the ring onto Randy's finger._

_"And so, by the power vested in me by the State of California and Almighty God, I now pronounce you man and wife – and may your days be good and long upon the earth, You May kiss the Bride!" The Priest Announced._

_It was the moment the two were waiting for the whole day. Randy and Stacy locked lips, for the first time as Husband and Wife. Stacy wrapped her arms around Randy, deepening the kiss. Their Kiss as Husband and Wife. The Crowd stood up and began to clap._

The flashback ended and her mind returned to reality. It took her that much to realize that she was still in love with him. What she was doing almost a thousand miles away from her one true love, she didn't know. He was hurt and now she may never be able to let him know how she truly feels and would never get the chance to tell him. She needed to do that. She needed to see him.

And most importantly – he needed to be okay.

* * *

The feeling of the hot coffee in her hands felt refreshing. Like the diva she was, Maryse strutted down the empty hallway of the hospital. Tonight was certainly a long and enduring night. So much had happened that certainly changed everything. The break up with Mike was brutal and Ted's appearance at her home was shocking. Her heart finally began to discover what she wanted. It was only one person she desired to have and at the moment, she couldn't do anything about it. He was happy and with another girl. She wasn't going to ruin that, as much as she would have probably done but something changed in Maryse. What it was, she didn't know but it was a benefit and not a negative.

Continuing her way down, an empty seat made its presence and she filled the gap with her body. Taking the coffee up to her lips, she accepted the scent of the coffee into her senses and sighed afterwards. Sipping on the hot but delicious liquid, she felt it travel down her throat. A sigh was released.

Hearing a set of footsteps, Maryse turned over to her right and found a familiar face walking over to her. Nikki Bella, "What are you doing here all along? Dolph's is getting discharged and we're all going to leave now. Kelly's only staying overnight for a little bit longer but she'll be okay."

"I just wanted to be alone for a little while, that's all."

"Is there something wrong? I feel like something is bothering you and you're not really telling me what's going on. Fess up, Maryse."

Nikki always knew. She didn't know why but it must be that whole best friend thing, "I'm just a little sad."

"Why are you sad?"

" – I suppose it has something to do with me still being in love with Ted, even though he has moved on. It's not much of a big deal," Her sarcasm wasn't working much, even as she continued on, "Nikki, I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm still so in love with him and I know I can't have him, though if I tricked my way into it I would get what I want but I don't want to. Why am I like this?"

"Sounds to me that you Maryse – you're turning into a selfless human being, instead of being selfish; it's not a bad thing."

"I hate my life right now. Here I am, in love with a man who is with someone else. Why must my life be this complicated? Why must life so damn unfair?" The anger and frustrated built inside of her caused the blonde to send her coffee cup slamming into the wall.

As for Nikki, she did her duty and stood by her friend's side. Nikki accompanied the blonde and embraced her with a hug, "It's going to be okay – it's all going to be okay."

Who was Nikki to even promise such a thing when she herself didn't know what the days had planned for her but that's what a friend's job was. It was to keep her calm and reassured.

In the distance, a body remained glued up onto the wall and he too began to grow guilt over this. She was still in love with him and he had some news for her: he was still in love with her.

As Ted walk off into the distance, he found a familiar face waiting for him down the hallway. The sweet and reassuring was soothing. As he came forward, he was greeted by a hug and a peck onto the lips.

"You seem a little sad? Is everything alright?" Asked Eve, the concerned girlfriend, "Are you okay?"

He couldn't just explain to her what was going on just like that but selected a different route. Standing up strong and mighty, he managed to smile, "Yeah, everything's fine."

"Should we head home?"

For that moment, he paused and didn't say anything. All he could do was think and he knew what he had to do. He wanted to make everything right. He wanted to be happy. He didn't want to lie anymore. Ted DiBiase had a tough task on his hands now – even worse than this earthquake.

* * *

**A/N: **And Finally, a conclusion to this all.  
So many questions continued to be left unanswered but they will be.  
Personally, not my best chapter but i hope you all enjoy and Sorry for the wait - went away for a little while.  
And there was so much snow today that it was a perfect chance to write up this chapter :)  
Please review & take care :) xx

_Next chapter - Stacy makes her return to Beverly Hills & Ted makes a very important decision.  
_


	37. The Hymn for the Missing

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty Seven _- The Hymn for the Missing

The warm breeze provided a sense of warmth for the brunette, as she remained in the courtyard. Normally, a return to school wasn't much accepted but this was a different story. With the school shut down for a few days, it was more of a relief to return to classes.

Picking her eyes up from the book she was engaged in, she watched the bodies pass through the hallways and smiled, just when someone familiar came by. Cody Rhodes walked in stride, as he made his way to his class but for Eve only a smile was offered in exchange. The smile would soon vanish when she thought about what she did that night. He had token her virginity – which she wasn't made about – it was the other part of this that bothered her. Knowing she did something like this to Ted made her feel like a horrible human being. Cheating is cheating; doesn't much how little or how much you did. It will always be cheating.

She couldn't stop herself. Once Cody had laid a kiss on her lips, she had fallen into the trance and there was no escaping it. His touch brought the chills to her skin, he possessed the perfect kiss and he was gentle. What more could be asked? She didn't know. It made her wonder if she was falling yet again.

"Hey you –"

"You should be in class – you've got one more period left," The concern was presence in her gentle and sweet voice, "You need to pass that class or you won't graduate."

"He's in not today," He answered simply, "I just came by because I really need to talk to you."

_This doesn't sound too good. _Ted never usually came up to address anything and the tone he brought forward with his sentence wasn't too appealing for the brunette, who could only think something bad happened. Maybe he found out about Cody and hers little rendezvous?

"What do you need to talk about honey – is everything okay?"

This was something that was on his mind that he needed to get off his chest as soon as possible. He killed him to do something like this to her, of all people but it had to be done. Time was only making the situation worse and worse and he had to tell her.

"You know I love you. You're an amazing person and I can't even imagine how lucky I've been these past few months," His hands traveled over, holding a tight grip over her small cold hands, "But I can't do this anymore. I can't do this to myself nor can I do this to you any longer. You deserve so much better than this and that's why this must happen. I don't know how else to put this but Eve, we've got to end our relationship."

The break up – that's what he wanted to talk about. Her chin lowered and she remained quiet. Her mind went to work as she slowly thought about what they had been through and immediately could conclude that this wasn't because he didn't want to be with her but Ted wanted to be with someone else.

Releasing a sigh, Eve spoke up, "I know what this is about and I understand. Ted, you're still in love with Maryse."

"What? No, she has nothing to do –"

"Stop telling me something I want to hear. Sure, I don't want to hear that you want to be with Maryse but you know what Ted – I care about you. I care about you so much and I care if you're happy. You're not happy with me and I know you'll be happy with her. I never told you this but I know you never got over her. You're in love with her and I want you to be with her but more importantly, I want you to be happy Ted. That's what matters the most to me – that you're happy. If you're happy, then I'll be happy."

The emotional confession that spilled through Eve's lips was somewhat relieving. It just goes to show how good of a person Eve is. He knew something now – he was meant to be with Maryse. He knew it, Eve knew it – what else was there to tell him that he should be with Maryse? As much as he didn't want to hurt Eve, he was glad the truth came out.

"I'm sorry this has to end like this Eve – I never meant for this to happen like this and I want you to know that you're an amazing human being. Any guy in this world would be lucky to have such a smart, sweet and caring girl like you and you're going to make someone really happy – I just know it."

"And you're going to make me happy when I see you happy," Giving up someone you love this easily, especially when it was to someone who wasn't quiet your best friend either made it tougher but it had to be done, "Now you go – go on and tell her how you feel."

He had one last thing to say, "You're one of my best friends, you know that? I hope it can stay like that."

As he released her from grip she had held him onto, Eve smiled, "Of course."

This was the perfect ending to a perfect story. As Ted departed, Eve remained seated and thought about what she just did. It was the right thing to do and she was happy that she did it. She finally let her heart out and truly spoke about how she felt.

As she was left alone, she'd soon be joined by some company – he was in the form of Cody Rhodes. The football player came forward, seeing the brunette in a state of need, "Hey Eve, is there something wrong?"

She didn't speak. Her lips remained tightly shut. Shutting her eyes, she reopened them as tears flowed out and down her cheeks, "Ted and I broke up."

Even with the fact that she left him go like this, she still felt empty and alone now that she had nobody. She loved Ted – she loved him enough to let him go and now this had to happen. Cody, unaware of what he should do, just wrapped his arms around the brunette and could only comfort her in this time of need. Only reassuring words would help the brunette, as the tears rolled down and absorbed up by Cody's shirt. The sweet smell of his cologne was refreshing as his hold became tighter.

"I'm here for you," Said Cody and it was the only set of words that Eve needed to hear.

* * *

It was like yesterday she left and now after months of being away from the place she called home, Stacy Orton was officially home.

There was no homecoming for her as this arrival was a much sadder one than anything. Stacy didn't return home. She only had two stops – one stop: drop her children at her parents and stop two: the hospital to find Randy who was in intensive care. Coming through the main entrance of the hospital, she grew extremely worried.

The thought of seeing Randy in such a condition as Torrie had explained to her earlier frightened her. A serious head injury was sustained and now Stacy had returned to discuss what was to happen next. If there were to be any improvements or anything along the lines of that and with every step closer to the doctor's office, she only continued to worry.

There was some relief at the end of the tunnel – John and Torrie – the two remained glued to one another at the end of the hallway. A smile was offered by Torrie, who jolted over and into the arms of her best friend. The mother of two raked Stacy's hair and her tears rolled down before being absorbed by Stacy's shirt. When Torrie pulled away, she tried to smile, "I'm so happy you finally decided to come back."

After Torrie and Stacy's reunion, John came over offering the blonde a hug, "Good to see you again Stacy."

She put effort into her smile but it didn't last, "I need to know what's going on. Is Randy okay?"

No response. There was this awkward silence in the air. John offered his hand onto Torrie's back, as a sign of comfort. Seeing how weak Torrie was at the moment, he offered to tell Stacy, "The doctor wanted to speak to you about him. Stacy, it's really serious and he's right there in Randy's room waiting for you."

John's tone wasn't much reassuring nor did it provide a good sign that everything was okay. Clearly, something was wrong. Taking one final look at the couple, Stacy gathered her strength and pulled the knob to Randy's room – this would be the first time in a long time she'd see him and it would have to be on a hospital bed. As the door was opened, she quickly closed it and found Randy's body hooked up onto machines.

Stacy soon found the doctor, looking at the machines that were helping Randy. He nodded in disappointed and Stacy took the news that whatever it was, it wasn't getting any better. As the doctor turned his body around, he found the young woman staring down at Randy's body, any second away from releasing her emotions.

"Are you Mrs. Orton?" She nodded. The doctor came forward introducing himself, "I'm Doctor Michaels – it's nice to meet you."

All she wanted were answers and nothing less than that, "Is it bad doctor?"

He offered the chair before her, "Please take a seat," Doing as she was directed, she sat on the chair that laid bedside. Her eyes could only look down at Randy who remained still. The doctor eventually took a seat and began detailing Randy's conidtion, "Randy sustained a severe head injury, which required emergency surgery. After the surgery, he had lost all function of his brain and is now left in a vegetative state. I'm sorry to inform you Mrs. Orton but we tried out best."

What she feared the most was true. This was it – it was all over. Randy was practically gone. Stacy lost him. Trying to keep herself composed, Stacy held onto her chest as she began to breathe hysterically. Her eyes traveled back to Randy's lifeless body, as she took a hold of her husband's hand. She would never be able to kiss him again. She would never be able to hug him. Not only would she suffer but her children would grow up without a father. Now she took this as being her own fault – if she hadn't left – if she just hadn't left none of this would have happened. Life would be normal but her decision cost her the one thing in the world she loved the most.

"But –" There was a little more, a little more hope, "Though he is in a vegetative state, there's a chance that he may wake up from it. Though it's a low chance, there's still some hope that he could wake up from all of this but I warn you, it may take a long time or may never happen which is why we need to come to a decision."

Even with the grain of hope given to her it wouldn't change anything.

"You're the only one who can make that decision. According to the living will that Randy had, if he was ever in a situation like this, he left the decision in your hands. Now, you can stay whenever but if you choose to continue leaving Randy in this condition, we're going to have to move him to a long term healthcare facility if needed. I'll leave the two of you alone and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

As the doctor left the room, Stacy moved closer to Randy and left her hand resting on his hand, gently patting it, "Randy, I'm sorry," Stacy muttered as she looked at him.

What was she to do? Such a monumental decision lies in her hands at this moment and what she was to do, she didn't know. This was going to require time and deep thought. Was she willing to do something like this? Did she still garner some hope to pull herself through this?

She didn't know but this was going to be the biggest decision she would ever make in her life.

* * *

It was a funny story – Nikki and Dolph, that is – if you had known the two from before you'd know how Nikki couldn't stand the abrasive Dolph Ziggler. If you look at the two of them now, you would never think that Nikki once hated him. With their lips inseparable from one another, Nikki couldn't keep her hands off her new boyfriend.

Over the course of the past few months, she felt alone. There had always been something missing from her life and now that void had been filled with someone she couldn't imagine herself living without. Looking into his eyes, she felt safe and loved. It's funny how it took so long for her to realize what she wanted and it was always in front of her, all this time.

Competition of who was happier was a tough and tight race but somehow, Dolph would be the winner of that. Let's imagine this – the girl of your dreams is right there but she never liked you nor had the patience to deal with you. Turned down and turned down, he never gave up and look at him now. He's now with the girl of his dreams and he couldn't ask for anything better than this.

Nikki rested on his lap, arms draped over his neck and slowly pulled away from the kiss they once had locked on, "Gosh, I just love to kiss you," She pecked him on the lips, "I would do it all day."

"You don't know how happy I am to be with you. I can't even begin to explain everything to you," Admitted Dolph, as he gazed into her eyes, "I've never been this happy, in such a long time."

Nikki's lip curved into a smile, when hearing she was responsible for how happy he was, "I remember before, you were a completely different person, something I didn't like. Why did you act that way? I mean, after I told you how I really felt you showed this different side I liked. Why'd you act the way you did?"

It was a complicated subject but now that they were together, he had to be up front and honest about everything.

"It's so stupid, you wouldn't want to hear it but I thought you liked it. I thought you weren't going to like the real me. The entire time I thought you liked the way I acted. I didn't think you were going to like the real Dolph and I wanted to be with you so badly and I would do anything for that, so that explains why I did it."

His purpose for his actions was sweet but she couldn't understand why he wouldn't be himself, "Why'd you do that? I'm going to like someone for who they are and not something I should expect them to be. Dolph, I like you for you. I like you for who you are and that's what I like – the truth."

"I'm sorry about all that – I acted like a jerk half the time to you."

Her lips pursued together, "Don't apologize. All you have to do is be yourself and I'm going to like you for being yourself. I like honest Dolph Ziggler – not the lying one."

With his little secret out in the open, he pushed his lips up against Nikki's and was forever grateful to have her right in his arms.

* * *

"I am just sick of this place."

Kelly's feelings about being stuck in the local medical center weren't positive ones. Today was discharge day. Accompanying Kelly on the wonderful journey was Maryse, who kindly agreed to take Kelly home. As much as she loved her stay, it was time to go.

"You've mentioned that about twenty times. You need to relax. The car's outside and I'm going to take you home in no time," Playing the role of the reassuring friend, Maryse choose to feed the blonde with words she wanted to hear, "And I'll be staying over to keep you company and we'll have a blast. Don't you worry – I'll be nurse Maryse."

"Oh dear god – get me back into the bed! Get me back!"

"You're funny."

As Maryse began to roll her out in the hallway, she took the time to reflect – especially with the set of gifts that rested in her lap. One was a chocolate brown teddy bear from Evan while a bouquet of lilies – Kelly's favorite – laid onto her lap. The mess she got herself in. Something was set in stone – this decision was going to be a difficult one indeed. Evan or Cody? Evan Bourne or Cody Rhodes? Her heart wanted both but she could only have one and one only. This wasn't going to be a polygamist relationship.

Cody – she knows he's in love with her as much as she is in love with him. He's a perfect guy and any girl would be lucky to have him.

Evan – he's been in love with her for ages and he's always been there for him no matter what the circumstance and just like Cody, any girl would be lucky to have him.

Kelly Blank never liked decisions like this. She never liked something that was completely up to her. She was indecisive female that can never make up her mind and this situation would test her skills.

Since the earthquake, she hadn't seen either of them. The closet contact they made since then was the deliveries that were made with their gifts. Kelly wasn't aware of how either of them were feeling right now. All she needed was to talk to them and see if everything was going to be okay. If somehow, they can all coincide with one decision and try avoiding hurting the other.

Like she said before, Kelly hated decisions like these.

"Did you go to school today? How's West Bev holding up after this quake?"

"Not too bad – the locker rooms were totally messed up but most of West Bev is in good shape," Beamed the French Canadian, "But luckily, I won't be going in tomorrow or the day after. I'm jetting off to New York to spend the holidays with her. Since Mom's cruising Australia and Daddy's soaking the sun up with his brand new whore – Sophia offered for me to come up to New York City and spend some quality sister time. I need a good vacation after the hell I've been through. With breaking up with Mike and still head of heels for Ted, I need to leave. I just need to be away from the hills for a few weeks. Will you survive without me?"

"Daddy's with Carolyn, right?"

"Carolyn – Whore? Same thing. She's just with my dad so she could get some money out of it. She's just a gold digger. She doesn't love my father. He asked if I wanted to join him and I refused if that whore was going to be around so I opted to spend it with Sophia. Are you going to go anywhere?"

"Well, I might. Mom went to Florida to meet Michael's family and Torrie and John invited me to come with them with my Dad to Boise and spend the holidays with my Grandparents. I haven't decided but I have to figure something out before I leave."

"– You have to figure out your mess with Evan and Cody, right?"

"Did you see them in school today?"

"I saw Cody only. He seems a little – I don't know bummed I guess. He's not really into it in school and it was just odd of him. Cody's never that type of guy to be like that. He's always full of life and happy but he was sad. Evan, I didn't even see him at all today – nobody has seen him."

She was at a crossroads in her life and didn't know in which direction she should travel in. Go one way you'll break this heart and if you go the other way, you'll break another heart. Nobody won in these situations.

"What am I going to do?"

Maryse could only offer this piece of advice for Kelly, "Search inside your heart – the answers in there and you'll find it."

For the first time, in a long time, Maryse brought forward a wonderful thought that Kelly would be sure to think on.

* * *

She found herself collapsing onto her bed after her first day back at school, since the chaos that the earthquake had brought. She found herself exhausted and slumped with a ton of work to do. Tiffany had hit a point where she couldn't look at a book or anything. Luckily, winter break wasn't too far away.

Just as she thought she'd receive some quiet time, her mother game in with a letter in her hand, "Honey, a letter came in for you," Tiffany didn't show much interest until, "It's a letter from Harvard dear – it looks mighty important.

Now her mother got her attention, Tiffany was sitting up straight and took in her hand the letter. A few months ago, Tiffany sent her application for Harvard much earlier in anticipation that she could receive the decision earlier than others would expect. It was a shining moment for her. Harvard was Tiffany's dream school – it was a place she could always imagine herself going to such a place and begin her pre-med studies there. Since she was a little girl, she hoped and dreamed for the day she'd receive this letter and this could very well hold the fate of her future. The contents of this letter could change her life forever.

Her hands were shaky as she began to rip apart the letter. Her mother grew anxious as the time went by and hoped the best for her only daughter. Tiffany was growing eager as she pulled out the letter. Closing her eyes and taking one last deep breath and when she'd open them, her life could change forever.

_Accepted._

Tiffany fell back and released a high pitch scream. As she fell back, her feet went up into the air and she repeatedly began to kick the air. She did it, she actually did what she wanted. Hard work pays off.

Coming back down to earth, she came into her mother's arms and wrapped her arms around her body, "Mom, I did it! I actually did it – I'm got into Harvard! I'm going to Harvard!"

As much as her mother was happy for her, she didn't mean to burst her bubble or ruin her moment but with the financial condition her parents were in, they couldn't afford a school like Harvard.

"I'm so proud of you honey but I'm unsure if you could go to Harvard. The tuition is extremely expensive and we still need to pay this house off and we have so many other financial problems. I don't want to get you upset but you may not be able to go to Harvard. As much as we'd love to have you go, we wouldn't be able to afford it."

Tiffany could feel her heart being ripped out of her body and into the open fresh air. Her dream of going to Harvard was being shattered and her chance to make something of herself was becoming more distant and distant.

Her mother was right – as much as she didn't want to admit it – but she was right. Harvard was expensive and she couldn't do that to them no matter how badly she wanted to go. Her parents problems were far more important than Harvard and would only put a strain on everything.

"I'm so sorry dear."

Tiffany remained silent as she went back to her bed and digested the thought of everything, as her mother exited her bedroom. She fell back on the bed and could feel the tears forming up from this. This is how your dream being destroyed felt like. It wasn't much of a good feeling. Why'd she have to be in a place like this? Couldn't she just been that lucky girl to get everything she always wanted? Life didn't have that in the plan.

Even with the possibility of getting some scholarship money, it would still be tough to pay everything off and she couldn't do that to her parents. It was too much. Perhaps a school somewhere in California will have what she wanted.

Her phone began to ring and when she pulled it up, she found Jack's name on the screen. She answered, "Hey Jack."

He immediately knew something was wrong. She didn't sound right, "Tiff, is there something wrong? You don't sound too well."

He would find out eventually so why not tell him, "I got a letter from Harvard today. It was the decision letter and I got accepted."

Now this wasn't making sense. You get accepted into the America's most prestige school and you're upset about it? None of this was making much sense, "Tiffany, you got accepted into one of America's best schools and you're sad about it. What could you be sad about?"

"It's expensive Jack. Harvard cost a lot of money and my family doesn't have that. We're spending a lot of money on trying to get this house paid off and they can't afford my tuition costs. As much as I want to go to Harvard, I can't just put my parents in such a position like that. But its fine, I can go to a school somewhere in California – maybe a state school since they aren't too expensive."

"I'm so sorry to hear about this Tiffany."

Genuinely, he felt bad for Tiffany and the position she was now stuck in. She had such a huge opportunity before her and she couldn't have it because of money issues. Jack felt he could possibly do something about this. Tiffany was a good girl with a good heart and she deserved the best. She deserved to go to Harvard. She worked hard and Jack was going to try his best to get what she wants. After everything she had endured, he was going to make it his goal to help Tiffany.

"Tiffany, I've got to make a quick call – I'll call you right back."

Jack knew exactly what he could do now – he said he was going to give Tiffany a good life in Beverly Hills and he swore to stand by his decision. He was willing to do anything to help Tiffany – just about anything.

* * *

"Are you sure you're going to do this Stacy?"

As the night grew dark, Stacy was asked the question once more before she was about to enter Randy's room. Torrie and John stood by the female's side in this time of need and hoped to help her get through this. Stacy was in the middle of the biggest decision of her life but finally, she made a conclusion of what exactly she wanted to do and it wasn't easy making this decision.

Stacy decision was to take Randy of the machines that were keeping him alive. It was hard – the hardest decision she ever had to make and even harder than leaving Beverly Hills a few months ago. Why she was choosing to let Randy go? The chances of him recovering were low – lower than anyone could imagine. Only a miracle could keep him alive but she couldn't wait for one. She didn't want him to suffer any longer and wanted to set him free. She loved him so much but you have to love someone so much in order to let them go and she had to let him go. She'd wait a thousand years for him to wake up but Randy wouldn't want that for her.

Earlier in the day, the twins – Emily and Connor – came by and said a heartfelt goodbye to their father. Stacy tried her hardest to explain to her young children what was going on. It was difficult to explain but the two of them ultimately understood what was going to happen and neither were thrilled to see what was to happen. They were going to lose their father – a monumental figure in their lives would be gone forever.

Randy's parents were present earlier and Randy's friends couldn't make it back in time to give their final goodbye. They only provided Stacy with the strength she needed to go forth and they let her know that they'll be there for her no matter what happens.

Torrie, who couldn't compose herself, remained by Stacy's side as well as John. The two had just returned from saying goodbye to their friend. Torrie repeated the question once more to Stacy, hoping she would change her mind but the decision had been made. Torrie nor John wanted this to happen but the two of them both knew that Stacy knew what was best. They trusted her to make the right decision.

The tears were forming in her eyes as she walked toward the door, grasping the knob. Turning back around one more time, she looked at her friends, "Randy would have wanted this – he wouldn't want any of us to have to deal with this and – and," She sobbed out, "I've got to say goodbye guys."

Opening the door, the image of Torrie crying with John in her arms was the last thing she saw, until the doctor was in there, "Mrs. Orton – I'll give you a few moments and I'll be outside whenever you're ready," said the doctor, just before he exited and left Stacy alone with Randy.

With the strength she had left, Stacy followed the noise of the machines that were keeping Randy alive. A dimmed light rested upon ceiling. Stacy pushed the chair aside and went down on her knees and found her eyes facing Randy directly. This was it – her chance to tell Randy goodbye.

"Randy… Randy – the love of my life, my soul mate, my everything. I don't want you to leave," Her hand crawled over and interlocked with his, "I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay. I'm sorry I left like that, I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me leaving, you and I may still be together, happy as can be but no. I was so stupid to leave you here and when I return, this is how I find you. This is my entire fault. I deserve this. I thought leaving you was the right thing to do but now I realize it was a stupid mistake. This was all a stupid mistake and if it wasn't for me, you'd be standing right beside me."

She felt it was all her fault. Her decision caused all of this and now she was suffering the consequences. Why it had to happen to her, she didn't know.

She was losing the love of her life – it's someone that can never be replaced and honestly, she'll never find someone like Randy ever again. No one could replace the space that Randy had filled.

"No one is ever going to replace you – do you hear me? I can never love someone like I've loved you. You're irreplaceable, Randy. No one could fill your shoes. No one will love me as much as you have. No one will ever be able to be the husband you are. No one can ever be the father you were. No one will ever be like you Randy, no one."

Their long history only made this all difficult.

"I had a crush on you since I was in elementary school and I would have never thought I'd be with you right now. I never told you but when I was little, Candice and I would have pretend weddings and I'd always pretend I was marrying you. Little did I know my pretend wedding would be a reality one day. I was lucky – I am so lucky to have someone like you. Someone to make me smile, to make me laugh – you did all of that Randy. You were my everything and you'll always be my everything."

Stacy's head crashed onto his hand. Her teardrops fell onto his hands, "You're going to miss so much. Connor's first soccer game, Emily's first ballet recital, birthdays, Christmases – everything. But I know you'll be watching over us. You're going to watch over us and keep us safe."

_I tried to walk together  
But the night was growing dark  
Thought you were beside me  
But I reached and you were gone  
Sometimes I hear you calling  
From some lost and distant shore  
I hear you crying softly before the way it was before_

Releasing his hand, Stacy pulled herself up. She had one more thing to do – one last thing to do.

"– Randy – I love you. I will always love you and there is no one or nothing that will ever change that. You were my everything and you'll always be my everything," In between sobs, she released gasps of air as her eyes grew redder and puffier, "I'm going to love you to the day I die and I know that one day, I'm going to see you again. I'm going to see you again and I'm going to wait for that day. That day will be the greatest day of my life – when I get to see your face and on that day, I'll love you more than I love you right now."

_Where are you now  
Are you lost  
Will I find you again  
Are you alone  
Are you afraid  
Are you searching for me  
Why did you go I had to stay  
Now I'm reaching for you  
Will you wait, will you wait  
Will I see you again_

Coming over his face, she came down a left him with one last kiss. Her soft lips touched his cold ones. It was the perfect way to say goodbye – more than perfect. After pulling away, she stared down at him once again and said one last word.

"Goodbye."

Coming back down, she held onto his hand and the doctor came in asking, "Are you ready?" And she didn't even turn back to look at him and simply nodded.

Here it comes – this would be it. The last time she'd ever see Randy. The last time she'd ever get to hold his hand. It would all be over after this moment. Memories of their time together came flashing back from their first meeting – to their first kiss – to their wedding day – to every significant event that involved the two of them.

The doctor came forward in a marching stance and slowly began to unhook the many machines that were keeping Randy alive. Stacy didn't take her eyes off of Randy and never once released his hand. As the sound of the machines came to a close, there was one significant machine that would not close but provide the doctor and Stacy with the information needed.

Her eyes focused in at the Randy but she would soon freeze up and her head would collapse onto his hand, continuing to cry. That ill-fated noise had filled the room and accompanying it was the flat line. It had marked the end of a life.

* * *

**A/N: **This was a very hard chapter to write, especially the final scene. I wanted to express each emotion possible.  
Now, thanks to everyone for the reviews. My writer's block is getting better - thank god!  
Please be kind and leave a review :)  
Take care xxx

_Next chapter - Maryse heads for New York, Jack has a surprise for Tiffany and Stacy thinks about a life without Randy  
_


	38. Beverly Hills, Meet New York

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty Eight _- Beverly Hills, Meet New York

Her hand never left his. The bright blonde locks of hers scattered around the bed as her head remained on beside. She shut her eyes but that didn't stop the tears from flowing out but instead she began to think – her thoughts produced a life without Randy.

"_Kids, come and get your lunches before you leave."_

_Every morning, she'd keep up with the same routine. She'd arise from her deep sleep in the wee hours of the morning, accomplish a chore or two and prepare a healthy breakfast for her two children. Life was on a schedule for her and no matter what, it constantly kept her busy._

_The kitchen would soon be occupied by the two little children, both grabbing their lunch boxes. The blue power rangers one was for Connor while the pink sleeping beauty lunch box was for Emily's enjoyment._

"_For Emily, we've got a turkey sandwich with cheese, orange juice, fresh grapes – without the roots still inside and two chocolate cookies. Connor, a ham sandwich with mayo, apple juice, a pack of M&M's and little packet of sliced apples – how's the lunch menu sound for today?"_

"_Did you put extra mayo?" _

"_Of course – there's plenty of mayo but not too much," Her sweet red lips faded into a smile, "The school bus is going to be here any minute now so let's get ready," The contents in Emily's hand caught Stacy's attention. It looked a lot like a family portrait of some kinds, "Emily, what do you have there? Is it something you drew?"_

_The young girl hesitantly nodded. Raising her little arms up, she showed what her artistic talents had to offer, "It's a picture. I drew a picture of all of us. Connor, You, Me and I put Daddy in there too."_

"_It's really sweet honey. I'll tell you what – since it's so nice I think it should go on the fridge. When you come home later, we'll put it up and I'm sure Daddy would love to see what you drew. I think he's going to love it."_

_Connor was the first to give his mother an odd and confused stare. It would soon be followed by Emily. Connor came a little forward and looked worried, "Mom, Dad's not here anymore – remember?"_

_It struck Stacy like a ton of bricks when she discovered what she said. Her heartbeat began to rapidly speed up and she found herself shaking just a little bit. She released a deep breath and had to quickly say something. Her goal was to never frighten her children with something like this, "Oh yes, your right," Lucky for her, the sound of the school bus's horn rung through her ears, "Oh look – the school bus is outside. Let's go you two," With the movement of her hands, she started to push her children toward the front door, eventually getting them out, "You two have a good day."_

_The two siblings waved just as they entered the yellow vehicle that would take them to school. As soon as the bus was out of reach, Stacy shut the door and found herself walking into the dining room. The chair at the head of the table was pulled open and soon would be occupied with Stacy's body. A picture frame – a picture of Randy laid in that spot. Her fingers traced his face. The water droplets from her eyes crashed down onto the photograph as she could only think about him and how he wasn't with her right now._

_Months had passed by she still felt a part of her was missing and it would never return. She was a widow. He was never coming back and that piece of her that left her that day wouldn't return. Randy had taken over her heart and that's what left her on that day. Her heart was missing._

_Stacy had a schedule of how her daily life. Every morning, she'd keep up with the same routine and in the same order. She'd arise from her deep sleep in the wee hours of the morning, accomplish a chore or two and prepare a healthy breakfast for her two children. The final part of her daily schedule involved watching her children leave for school followed by heading into the dining room, sitting in the head chair, staring at Randy's picture and crying. Crying, thinking and hoping – that was Stacy's regime every day and it wouldn't change._

Her head still remained intact to bed but her eyes opened up. That wasn't a life she would want to live. She couldn't too that. In that very moment, she felt a touch – One after the other on her hand. Quietly, her head titled upward as she found her hand engulfed by the fingers belonging to Randy. She gasped for some air. Her eyes were playing a trick on her but then the sound of that ill-fated noise began to show signs of life so were now her ears tricking her as well?

Doctor Michaels looked on over, surprised to see how the one machine was reacting. A pulse was located. Gathering the strength, Stacy's head turned and came eye to eye with Randy's eyes, both fully opened. She was moments away from having a panic attack with what she was seeing. Could this be all a dream? If this was, it would be one sick dream. She had to find out for herself if this was real.

"Randy, can you hear me?"

Both the doctor and Stacy watched on as they waited for a response from the patient. Randy's eyes maneuvered over and were shot directly at Stacy, "Stacy?" A word sipped through his lips, "Is that you?"

Randy's voice created a further stir in her eyes as the droplets hugged her skin as they traveled down – these tears were much different than the other ones she had released. Tears of joy, instead of tears of sorrow this time. Stacy came forward and soon felt the Randy's hand travel against her cheek, wiping off the tears that came down. He wanted to know if this is real.

"Is that really you Stacy?"

Lips pursed together, she nodded, "Yes – it's me Randy. It's Stacy."

His bottom lip began to wobble, looking into Stacy's eyes. Doctor Michaels watched on, witnessing a miracle occur right before his eyes.

The two of them didn't once break the hold. Randy's hand came back down and he pulled himself up. With the strength he had left, Randy pulled the blonde into a hug. Stacy returned the embrace, wrapping her arms right around his neck and holding onto his neck. This was real – this wasn't a dream. This was a miracle and nothing more. What she feared that she'd lose had finally returned.

While the embrace end, Stacy held onto Randy's neck and looked into his eyes, "You're okay – you're really okay. I thought you were gone. I thought you were never going to come back but you're here. You're here with me and it's going to stay like that. It's going to stay like that forever, do you hear me?"

With the strength remaining, Randy agreed, "It's just going to be you and I," Randy's words were more than perfect and with the perfect words, he sealed the gap with a kiss – one he had been waiting to do for a very long time.

* * *

Instantly, she could feel the cold air seeping through the plane. It was a reminder why she loved L.A so much – the weather couldn't be more perfect. Warm weather and sunshine all year around; could be their anymore to love about Los Angeles? Obviously not.

"_We'd like to thank you for flying with us and once again, welcome to New York –"_

New York City, the big apple, the city that never sleeps – the countless nicknames this city had. New York was truly an amazing city. There are two places in the world that Maryse loves – Beverly Hills and New York City. The essence that roamed in the air of this city was indescribable – it just was electrifying. The culture that surrounded the little island of Manhattan was alluring and captivating. Though some portions of New York was right up Maryse's alley, she was still content with it and believed that's what made this city the place it is today – the contrast of people here.

With all that she had been through these past few months, it was refreshing to be somewhere different – even if she was greeted by below freezing temperatures and a white coating on the ground called snow. Her mind was a wreck and a little vacation from the very place that drives her crazy would be well needed and deserved.

Pulling her way out of the first class cabin she had, Maryse toted her bag with her and exited the plane. Upon her exit, she could feel the cold air hit her body. The chills ran up and down her body as she continued her way down the platform and found herself in the terminal soon after. The terminal itself was holiday – countless decoration filled the terminal for the Christmas holiday that would soon be upon them.

Making her way through the terminal, her mind flashed backed through everything that she'd been through. The unfortunate break up between herself and Mike had been a rift on their friendship she still hoped to share with him. Mike had completely disappeared after that and hasn't been seen in West Beverly since then. The French Canadian could only imagine the heartbreak she put him through but lying to his face would only place a bigger strain on everything they had endured.

Plus, she was still in love. Not an ounce of love was for Mike but for someone even more special than him. He was always in her mind and heart – no matter how far she would after to travel. He'd always been stuck in her mind but they couldn't happen. Ted was happy for Eve and Maryse wouldn't want to ruin anything to make herself happy. Even being the person she is, she couldn't do that. If it was meant to be, it will happen and it had to be left at that. Maybe it's written in the stars and when those stars come together, it will finally happen but not right now. This vacation was supposed to help her cleanse her mind and relax and she would do just that.

After picking up the rest of her suitcases she had, Maryse found herself exiting the terminal and out into the brutal cold. Now she wished she was back in Beverly Hills – at least she could be on the beach and getting herself a sun tan.

It wouldn't be long until she was wrapped up by an extra blanket, known as her sister Sophia. The older Ouellet sister came through, surprising her young sister with a huge embrace, "Little sister!"

"Sophia!" In the midst of the embrace, Maryse still managed to cheer like a little girl, "I missed you so much, like so much!"

Pulling away, Sophia took a good look at Maryse, "You look even hotter from the last time I saw you which was a really long time ago."

Sophia Ouellet – as the title of Maryse's older sister, she was always protective of her younger sister. Tall, beautiful and almost exactly the same hair color as Maryse – you could say the two of them were like twins. The eldest Ouellet sister was living right on the Upper East Side, living the luxurious Manhattan life while she worked for a huge fashion magazine. To say her life was great was an understatement – perfect was a much more suitable word.

"Come on – the car's here waiting for us!"

Escorting her to the limo, Sophia took in stride and helped with Maryse's immense amount of luggage and helped her out. As soon as she joined Maryse back in the car, Maryse had a few words to say just as the driver began to depart JFK airport, "Thank you so much for bringing me up here. I didn't want to ruin Mom's quiet time nor did I want to be stuck in the Caribbean with Daddy and his whore."

"You think I'd let you put up with his new gold digger? Over my dead body would my only sister spend the holidays with that psycho? Plus, you'd have a lot more fun here with me, in New York. Just to give you a heads up, I've made appointments today at the Spa and salon. You and I will be treated like royalty – as we also deserve to be."

Maryse could only smile, "A mani and pedi sound great. The salon place I go to still hasn't opened back up because of the earthquake."

"Oh dear – how does it look out there?"

Maryse seemed confused, "Before, it was a complete battle zone. It was chaotic but now it's much better. The house didn't get too messed up, thank heavens and my car is still in perfect shape – maybe I should lie and say it was ruined and daddy can buy me a new one?"

The two laughed in unison. It was almost like old times, when the pair would spend countless times laughing away.

"You should do it and speaking of buying," Sophia had a little trick hidden up her sleeve that she didn't tell her sister. It was a little surprise, "I know you've been through a lot these past few months so tonight we're going to this ultra-fabulous party. Some many people are going to be there and I was lucky enough to be invited and I was given the choice of having a guest and I thought why not bring my baby sister along with me."

Such a surprise coming from Sophia – one that Maryse couldn't say no too, "Oh my – I'd love too. I'd love to go to a party. Ah, this is going to be great… but what am I going to wear? Oh shoot, what am I going to wear?"

"Honey – you're in New York. You're bound to find something –"

* * *

" – Cody, we can fix this – we can fix this problem and move forward. It just needs a little time and everything will be okay."

As much as Cody wanted to believe that, he just couldn't. In his heart, he knew that Kelly didn't want him and she deserved to be with someone else. As much as you love someone, you've got to let them go sometimes and he was willing to do that. Kelly was an amazing and sweet girl but he couldn't do this anymore. As bad as the earthquake was, some good came out of it – he discovered what he needed to do and it was to let her go and that was it.

"Kelly, I've come to realize what I want in life. I just need time to myself now. I need to think about me and put myself ahead of everyone else. You – you're amazing – I've said it countless times but you need to be with someone who's going to love you and it just can't be me – it just can't."

"But we can fix this –"

"There's nothing to fix, Kelly," he paused for a moment and looked into Kelly's eyes, which were moments away from becoming a waterpark, "I had fun with you – the time we shared was amazing and I love you and always will but we can't be together. You deserve to be with someone else – you deserve to be with Evan."

She even heard it from the horse's mouth himself and was alarmed. Cody final words to her, was followed by his departure and Kelly was left completely alone. After this all, she wanted to be with Cody but could his confession make her realize that she deserved to be with someone else instead of Cody? Was he right – did she deserve to be with Evan?

Her life was a complete and utter mixed up jigsaw puzzle. The pieces weren't fitting in with one another but she knew she'd find a perfect match eventually. If Cody was right, was it Evan who was her perfect match? She'd soon find out.

"Evan!"

She called out his name as he was passing by and when he turned around, his eyes blew up for a moment when he stared out at Kelly. She came on forward and by the look in her eyes, he could see she was visibility upset, "Kelly, is there something wrong?"

Wrinkling her nose up, she took a hold of his hand right in the middle of the hallway, "Do I deserve to be with you? Cody just told me he didn't deserve to be with me because you did. Do I deserve to be with you? Is he right?"

Right on the spot – Evan Bourne was placed right on the spot and his mind went into a mingle. Did he? Was Cody right with him being the one that deserves to be with Kelly? He loved Kelly – without a doubt and but with the recent events, was Kelly the right person to be with? Could she trust her?

"I don't know – I need to think. I really need to think."

"When will you give me an answer?"

As much as he didn't want to do anything like this, he huffed out his last breath to her, "Whenever I get the answer," And with that, he left the distraught blonde in the middle of the hallway as the tears rolled down her face. Kelly had gotten herself into all of this and when she thought she was going to be with someone – they didn't want to be with her.

When Evan disappeared, Kelly's phone had received a message and it came from Torrie. _Not in school today – Randy woke up last night and he's doing good. Just wanted to know if you were going to come with us when we go to Boise for the holidays – let me know soon._

Evan needed time to find an answer and maybe it was Kelly's turn to find an answer herself. This could very well be the thing she needed at this time.

* * *

West Beverly's newest couple were simply enjoying themselves during lunch. Lips sealed onto one another and hands roaming where they shouldn't be roaming – especially if that was seen on school ground. Nikki and Dolph were really enjoying one another's company as they sat outside in the courtyard for some lunch. One student, who was passing by, certainly had a selection of words for what he was seeing.

"Whoa – you guys know that the Beverly Hilton is a few blocks away from here. Could I possibly interest you in a room where you may continue this?"

Nikki and Dolph immediately stopped and found Ted DiBiase standing right there, arms crossed and laughing away.

"Ted, you don't have to be jealous that I'm making out with the hottest girl here at West Beverly. I hope you have some good reason for interrupting us," Dolph said sternly, as he and Nikki were too busy enjoying couplehood.

"I actually came to ask Nikki a quick question and then I'll be out of your way for you to do whatever you please," Ted answered and turned his head to Nikki, "Nikki, is Maryse in school today? I wanted to talk to her for a second."

"Oh, Ted – she left for New York last night. She'd spending the holidays with her sister there. You just missed her."

Or did he? A crazy and insane idea just popped into his head but he needed to do it. No matter how far she was, he needed to get a word in with her. This couldn't wait any longer, as he needed to do this as soon as possible, "Alright, thanks Nikki and you guys can return to what you were doing as I had promised Dolph."

Once he left the lovely couple to do whatever they pleased, he thought about what he was about to do. Was he seriously going to do this? But the only answer he could provide was he was doing it because he loved her. His phone came out and quickly located the number he needed.

" – I need a flight to New York."

* * *

"…_And this afternoon, we're proud to announce the fresh list of college acceptances that have come through the office this morning. Congratulations to Julian Wesker on his acceptance to California State University. Congratulations to Hanna Farley on her acceptance to Chicago State University and last but not least, Congratulations to Tiffany Terrell on her acceptance to Harvard University. Congratulations to you all and this is Evan Bourne, signing off. Have a great break, West Bevers."_

As Evan's face disappeared from the television screen, one of the lucky names provided from the newspaper editor was standing in the midst of the hallway. She was proud, just not proud enough. It's amazing to be accepted but completely different when you're accepted and can't even go. It's like having your cake but not being able to even taste the frosting.

The one thing that felt good were the warm smiles she was receiving from everyone around her. For the first time, in a very long time she actually felt as if someone cared about her. Her fellow classmates actually showed some compassion, which was extremely surprising.

She clutched her books on tightly against her chest, as she journeyed toward her locker, where she was provided with a nice little envelope. It was labeled for her. Confused she grew as she found the letter right before her and actually grew a little suspicious and feared the worsted – not another prank. Peeling it off the locker, she opened it up and found two pieces of paper. One was a note and it read – _You deserve to go _– and the second letter wasn't a note but actually contained more value than a simple note.

_Two hundred thousand dollars? This is a two hundred thousand dollar check, addressed to me – this is…_

You could literally see her jaw drop to the ground like a pound of bricks. A check with this many zeros wasn't possible to put onto a check, unless it was one of those huge novelty checks you get when you win a huge sweepstakes. Who did this most of all? Who would give her all of this money, just like that? _It couldn't be him or could it be?_

"What are you so happy about right now?"

The one person she could only think that would do something like this was standing right behind her. She twisted her body to face the football star, smiling at her, "What do you have there?"

"Don't act stupid. I know you did this –"

"How do you know it was me who left you that –" Peeking over, his eyes enlarged looking at the huge set of numbers, "Someone is pretty rich right now."

She handed over the check, "You're the only one who I told you about my financial problems that are stopping me from going to Harvard and this person gave me exactly what I need for four years there. Jack, you're a sweet guy but I can't accept this money. This is just too much. I can't – I just can't."

He wasn't going to back out of this battle that easily. He had his reasons to do this and he wanted to give her this since after all she deserved it.

"No – I'm not taking it back," Jack pushed her hand away, "You deserve it. You want to go to Harvard. It's your dream. I made your life hell here before and it's my fault some of those things happened to you and this is how I want to make everything up. I said I was going to give you a normal life here and this is where it begins. Take the money and go to Harvard – you deserve it."

"Jack, this is a lot of money –"

"You know who my dad is, right? This money is pocket money to him. Don't you worry about this at all and you go on to Harvard. You deserve the best."

That feeling that developed inside her chest couldn't be explained with simple words. How far a person would go to do something for you really shows how much they care and Jack, he cares. He went far enough to give her a large slump of money to use for her future. She couldn't even think of a way to thank him. In a rush, she leaned forward and planted a peck onto his cheek. He shut his eyes for that moment and when they were opened again, he found the blonde smiling.

"Thanks Jack."

That simple word went a long way – enough to bring a widening smile across Jack's lips.

* * *

This entire evening had been panned out from start to finish – but plans always have a way of changing but it was even more surprising on who decided to change the plans.

"I'm not in the mood to go out tonight –" Said Maryse Ouellet. Yes, she said it. Miss Ouellet was not in any mood to be having a glass of wine, mingling with the rich and famous and most importantly, not get all dolled up in a dress that were spent hours looking for. Clearly, this wasn't the Maryse any of us were quite use to seeing.

Sophia on the other hand wasn't taking the news quietly, "You've got to me kidding me? You – not in the mood? That's blasphemy – you not wanting to go to an elite party like this is Heidi Montag not wanting to make her breast larger than they already are. This is your last chance before I leave – are you sure that you do not want to spend an awesome night with your favorite big sister at one of New York's biggest parties?"

"I'll think I'll have to pass on that. Sophia, thanks but no thanks. I'm here for two weeks and I'm sure there will be countless more parties you and I can attend but just not this one."

As Sophia had stated, this was odd of her. There had never been a point or time in her young little life that she ever turned down a huge social gathering. It was nothing like her but Sophia wasn't in much control and had to let this one go, "Well, I'm going to get going – the car's waiting for me. Probably won't be home till late but there's plenty of takeout menus in the kitchen if you want dinner. I'd recommend the Thai restaurant because those noodles are simply amazing."

With that, Sophia found herself toward the door and eventually exited. That left Maryse all alone, in the neatly directed penthouse. The fireplace was ignited, creating the traveling warmth throughout the penthouse and Sophia's Christmas tree lingered in the distance. Forward she sprang to the balcony door and she gazed out onto the beautiful view of Central Park with the skyline of the city in the background. It was beautiful and the snow was just the icing on top of this cake, when the white sparkles came crashing to the surface.

She found herself thinking. She had the tendency to do a lot of thinking in such a short time period. Her life was unfolding right before her eyes and it wasn't much the way she had wanted for this to happen and all of that remained on her mind but there was someone else who was on her mind – him. The image of his sweet face would face in every direction she had walked in on. Even in her dreams, he was always there. Night after night, another dream – day after day, she saw him and could not stop thinking about him. It just goes to show how crazy about him she was but just because you're head over heels for someone doesn't mean you'll be with that person.

As each day went by, she could only imagine a life she'd share with him. The feeling of his strong arms wrapped around her slender body, the sweet words he'd whisper in her ear that caused her to giggle and that safe feeling you'd have with someone you love – yeah, that's what she kept dreaming about and dreaming it would remain because sometimes those dreams never become a reality.

Her neck whipped away to the door when she heard a knock. Cautiously, she journeyed to the front door and twisted the knob. The contents of the door would reveal her dream. She scanned from head to toe: the dark jeans, leather jacket, smoldering smile and the melting sparkle of snow resting on his head. This was a dream and father from reality, she thought to herself.

A soft breath escaped her lips, leaving the female breathless at the moment. He smiled, "Do you mind if I come inside?" Asking politely, she welcomed him inside and he chucked down the duffel bag that was once hanging off his shoulder. His eyes examined the surroundings of the penthouse that must be worth millions, "Nice place you've got here," He saw the view, "That is some sick view."

"Ted, what are you doing here and how'd you know I was even here?"

As she came forward, she stopped right in front of the fireplace and Ted soon joined her, "You disappeared from school so I asked Nikki what happened to you. She said you flew out to New York so here I am –"

"You say it like it's nothing – you must have a reason for flying three thousand miles and it can't be just to see me."

He simply nodded, "Your right. I didn't just come out here just to see you, " She somewhat frowned – she couldn't explain why she frowned, "I also came here to tell you that I love you and I wouldn't want anything else to be with you."

_I love you. He said I love you. _Her mind tried to digest the three little words that came through his soft lips, "You love me? But what about…"

"Eve? Well, I told her that we just couldn't be together because I was in love with someone else for a really long time and it wasn't her," Ted leaned forward, gently brushing her arm with his hand. While her head titled downward, he gently lifted it up, "Eve is a lovely girl but she's not what I want – Maryse, you are all I ever wanted."

Her lips parted and she gasped at a low tone and her eyes had not once looked away from Ted, "Ted…"

"No, don't say anything. I flew out here to talk to you and I'm going to talk to you," He interrupted, "I made the biggest mistake of my life months ago. I didn't know what I was thinking but I've come to realize something. I love you – that's what I've come to realize. You were on my mind all this time and I can't throw that away – it means something and it means that I have always been meant to be with you. Maryse, I love you and I came all the way out here just to tell you that. I had to tell you, I couldn't wait any longer."

He loves her? He really loves her. Ted leaned forward and on her part, she closed the gap and closed it up with her lips pressed up against his. Her hands roamed and he lifted her up into the air, deepening the kiss. She stripped him of his jacket, tossing it over to the side while he fiddling with the zipper on the back of her dress. The fiery passion flew through their bodies, igniting the both of them, just like the fire before them.

She tugged at his shirts end and requested it be removed, which he granted when it was thrown at the sofa, where it was left to hang. His bare chest brushed against her dress but their lips barely remained apart. Ted pulled down Maryse's dress, bringing her down to her black bra and lacy underwear. He scooped her up and laid her onto the couch beside them. The feeling of the burning fire beside them ignited the two even further.

Ted's touch had never felt like this before – there was something behind this that made it just that better. Ted was intrigued by the sweet perfume smell that radiated off of Maryse's neck and it made him want her even more than he did right now.

This felt right – he finally discovered what makes him happy and this was it. As for Maryse, she briefly ended the kiss and looked up at DiBiase. His sweet eyes were a relief to see and it soon ended when Ted returned to his previous position – his lips against hers – and Maryse could finally be happy.

Right then and there, Maryse knew dreams can become a reality.

* * *

The smile could never be wiped off her face. Though her problems and choices could have lead into a different direction, this was the perfect direction that this whole thing could have gone into. Mr. and Mrs. Cena remained standing still in Randy's hospital room, as he and Stacy remained glued to one another. She couldn't express her happiness on seeing the two of these together with one another, once again. Words couldn't make out how happy she felt.

But as much as she loved seeing the two together, her and John had to leave, "I think its best we get going. We've got an early drive –"

Suddenly, Torrie's phone provided the interruption with a text message from her younger sister. _I think it would be a good idea if I come up to Boise to spend the holidays. I'll explain a lot more when I see you but I'll be ready at six in the morning tomorrow so you can pick me up. Love you._

So the invitation was accepted. Torrie quickly nodded and focused her attention back at Randy and Stacy, "As I was saying – John and I are driving back to Boise for the holidays and I think it's best we get going so we can get some rest. We'll you see guys after the holidays – have a merry Christmas you guys."

"Merry Christmas and we'll see you in the new year," Said John, with his usual smile.

The two departed shortly after, leaving Stacy and Randy to have a little time to them for the time being. On Randy's mind, he could only think of what he wanted next in life. His mind was racing with countless ideas on which direction Stacy and he should go on to. He was just asking for a new start, especially after everything that has happened – things needed a change and he got just the idea.

"I've been thinking, you know."

She smirked, "What have you been thinking about?"

"All day I've been thinking that I want to start over – I want to start all over again with you and the kids. As much as I love this town, I can't be here any longer. There are too many memories here, some were good but some were bad and I need a new focus in life. I just need," He flickered with the words, "a fresh start."

He did have a point – there were a lot of memories in this town, some were good and some were bad but she could understand where Randy was coming from, "So what do you want to do? I'm willing to do anything."

At first, he didn't know how she'd react to this but with those reassuring words, he felt safe enough to bring forth the idea he proposed, "I'd like to move," He blurted it out, "Now you can say no – I don't care. It was just an idea I was thinking up and we wouldn't have to move out too far. I heard there's some really nice places out in Huntington Beach, Laguna and all of those towns. There right by the beach and all and I think it's a nice place to raise the kids. If you don't want to –"

"I want to."

Randy wasn't quiet expecting such a fast and rapid decision like that but he didn't mind. If she wanted to do this with her, he wasn't going to stop her, "Are you sure? I mean, you have so much here and we've lived here for so long. This is a huge decision and I want to make sure you understand it and accept it – you don't have to make rash decisions.

"Randy, its okay and I'm not making any rash decision. I want this too – I want to get away from all of our problems and start fresh. And Orange county is not even an hour away, what are we worrying about? I'll still feel as if I'm living here and I can drive back here any time to see Torrie, John and my parents. I'm ready for this – I'm ready to make the next chapter in our lives. Just tell me when and I'll be there."

The smile – she could stare at it for hours and hours, "I'm so happy I married you," And with those last few words, he went forward and laid a kiss right onto her lips. This was it – a new beginning for a couple that deserved it.

* * *

She completely shut out the entire world around her – it happened about every time she had her iPod on. Metro Station blessed her ears this time around and her eyes were blessed with a lovely Broadway-incorporated magazine. Her little mode at the moment was perfect – that certainly was cut short when her magazine was ripped out of her little hands.

Who was the culprit? It began with a Cody and ended in a Rhodes, "It's the first day of our break and you're at the beach club reading some stupid acting magazine? Come on Eve, you've got to do something a little more interesting than that."

Cody was a nice guy, end of story. Eve knew that inside of him was a good and strong heart. With her recent break up with Ted, he never once left her side that day. He stuck by her and only appreciated every minute that went by with him.

"Whatever," She huffed out, "But I would like to thank you for something. Thanks for sticking with me the other day. I really needed it and I enjoyed spending some quality time with you so thanks."

"There's no need to thank me but you can start by ditching this stupid magazine."

She offered a simple eye roll in response to his little lecture, "It's a good magazine and one day, I may like to become an actress. I like plays and those stuff so excuse me if I'm just trying to find some sort of calling in the worlds Broadway magazine have to offer. What are you doing here at the beach club? Meeting Kelly?"

He released a deep and slow sigh, "Oh yeah, Kelly and I – it's a long story. Kelly and I were talking and I told her that I didn't want anything to happen anymore. I told her she deserved to be with Evan and I needed a little time for myself. I'm actually happy with my decision and glad this happened."

In no regards to Kelly, Eve felt happy for the newly single man even though he wasn't acting much like it after the night the two of them shared. She didn't have any regret over what happened that night and though it was wrong, it never felt so right. The moment was perfect and though she did something horrible, no guilt surrounded her as she thought about it. That night with Cody was just what she needed.

"I'm glad you're okay. I think this is just what you needed. Now that Cody's single again, I'm sure a lot of crazy things are going to happen. Should those single ladies be aware that you are back on the market once again?"

He blushed, followed by a giggle, "It's whatever. I'm just happy to be alone and I don't think I'm going to jump right back into dating this soon. I'm going to take some time for myself and enjoy life, starting with this break. I'm going to go surfing, head back into the gym and do stuff for me, that I didn't have much time doing with the whole Evan and Kelly fiasco."

"I'm with you – My break I just don't want to think about relationships. Ted is off my mind but I need to blow some steam off and get my head back into the right space."

"Just like before – we're in the same boat, again. Both trying to recover from all of this."

And he was right. Just like the previous time, here they were again. Both were onboard the same boat but what would this lead too? Eve clearly wasn't ready to have another relationship – her heart at this time needed to heal from everything it's been through and really discover what her hearts desires. She's young and she has her whole life ahead of her to think about her life. There was no rush and she was going to keep it like that.

As for Cody, same rules apply. All this time he's been worrying about what was going to happen with his relationship with Kelly – constantly thinking about what was going to happen and he just had to release it and see that life has a lot more to offer than just being with someone you love. Life is about you and for the next few weeks, he was going to make him all about himself and no one else.

The two of them remained standing in front of one another, before Cody started up again with an idea, "Why don't we spend it together? You can say no – it's totally cool. I just figured that we're both in the same boat and it would do us good if we do something different. Plus, we haven't hung out much. We can use this time to get ourselves back on the page we were once on. What do you say?"

_It would be nice. _He put up a perfect situation to get her mind off of everything going on in her life so why not? "I think I'd really like that and I'd love to catch up with you on everything that's happened. How should we start this break?"

His lips curved into a smile, "I know this really secret beach, down in Orange County and it's exclusive. Only the best of the best know about this place so you've got to keep it a secret," To keep in tone with the mood, he whispered the very last part of his sentence.

"Exclusive? Impressive but do we still need to whisper like this?"

Cody wiped out a smile followed by his hand, which Eve accepted but wasn't expecting to be pulled in one fluid motion, "And off we go. Ditch the music and magazine and let's go."

Something told her this winter break was going to be much different than any other winter break she had. This one was going to be a lot more special – in more ways than one.

* * *

**A/N: **Just one question - did you really think i was going to kill Randy? I just couldn't. So, i gotcha ;)  
This story is close to be my longest story, ever :) It's exciting.  
Also, new story called **NOT LIKE THE MOVIES w/ Justin & Kelly** - check that out.  
Thanks for reading & please leave a review :) xx

_Next chapter - The New Year begins with saddening departures and shocking arrivals.  
_


	39. Departures & Arrivals

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Thirty Nine_- Departures & Arrivals

"Now Ladies, are we going to do this?"

The New Year had begun at West Beverly and Maryse's first resolution was to rebuild a bridge that was burned months ago. Not literally but Maryse did something very wrong months ago, which resulted in her doing several other bad things that she deeply regretted. The victim of her actions was Eve Torres. The beach blonde knew what she did was wrong and know with the truth exposed, she felt it was herself who should make things right – that's if the Latina wanted to.

"Yeah, I'm ready – let's go and do this."

Kelly was one of the ladies who had agreed to Maryse's suggestion about talking to Eve. Kelly had pushed Eve away, just like Maryse did and know she was feeling horrible. She felt in a sense that she betrayed Eve. Eve had always stuck by her side during tough times and she didn't return the favor. She possessed the characteristics of a bad friend and Kelly was willing to do anything to get that back.

Nikki, who joined the two ladies, wasn't even properly introduced to Eve but was willing to help Maryse and Kelly try to speak with Eve. The three ladies strutted down the hallways – similar to models on a runway – cutting through the main hallway and finding themselves in the courtyard. Their person of interest was standing against the stone beam, scrolling through the messages of her phone. Eve needed to get a way to get her mind preoccupied.

The three individuals came before Eve. The Latina quickly noticed the shadows that had been drawn upon her. She faced them – all three of them. For a second, she scowled with confusion – most of which was directed at Maryse and Kelly. Assumptions filled her mind – what _exactly _were the trio doing standing before her?

"Eve, I was wondering if girls and I could talk to you for a moment? It's important," The concern in Maryse's voice raised some suspicion on Eve's part. She reminded herself to stay on her toes.

"What do you have to talk to me about?"

Kelly came forward this time, coming from Maryse's left while Nikki remained on the right, "Eve, we came to apologize to you. I want to apologize to you for the way I've been acting toward you. I made a really stupid mistake when we fought. I was just confused. Honestly, I've really missed you a lot," Kelly wasn't lying at all, "I shouldn't expect you to just act like nothing happened at all and to forgive me like that but I wanted to let you know I'm sorry for what I did."

It took all the strength in the world, not to let her eyes roll but she could feel something coming out of Kelly's confession: kindness, support and love. When Kelly finished her portion, Eve looked over at Maryse who wanted to have her say.

"I'm not great with apologies but I'll try my best. I've made so many mistakes Eve – you already know but this has to be the worst one. I was mad, I was jealous because I believed something that wasn't true. Where can I begin with my regrets? At the beach house, the sext I sent. I'm sorry – what else can I say about it? I did something stupid, regretted it and all I want is for everything to return to the way it was. It's our senior year and I wouldn't want anything but just to be friends again – but like Kelly said, you don't have to forgive us or be friends with us again but just know that we are sorry for what we did."

Her mind didn't want to believe it; her heart on the other hand was more accepting of her former friend's apologies. Pursing her lips together, Eve glanced over to Kelly followed by Maryse, "I was certainly put through crap – a lot of crap that can be unforgivable but I'm willing to let things go for the sake of my happiness. All I want is for us to be friends and not let petty bullshit get in our ways," The blondes agreed with nods and Eve released a smile, "I wouldn't want anything more than just to be friends again."

Eve Torres had made one monumental decision. Certainly, it was a tough one but sometimes you must learn to look past things. Life is too short to waste your time on silly antics – you've got to learn to forgive and focus on other things in life than the things that get you made. It's just not worth it.

Kelly came over, wrapping her arms around Eve with an embrace. Maryse soon followed and said, "Do you see this West Bev? The real bitches are back together, once again," The girls cluttered up in laughter.

Nikki – who stood there with a smile – kindly said, "Can I get into this hug too?"

The three girls looked over and opened there arms to the brunette, who came in for the embrace, "Can I just say that this feels great again?" Said the French Canadian, who was to preoccupied in her embrace that soon broke apart, "And we need to do some serious catching up. After school today, the four of us, the beach club and some lattes. No excuses!"

"I'll be there – I've got to go and get to class," As she walked away, she waved back and continued down the hallway with a wide smile on her face. The happiness she was feeling right now was indescribable at the moment. It was something that should have been done months ago and after it all, it's now water under the bridge.

At the opposite end of the hallway was another individual coming down her way. Mr. Cody Rhodes. The smile on his face that morning was rather surprising. The athlete wasn't much of content person when it came to his education so this was surprising to Eve.

"Miss Eve Torres, how do you do today?" It was his usual charming way, "Your looking rather happy right now? Would it be a crime if I ask why?"

"I'm just having a really good day," As she walked by him, Cody twisted his head back and smiled. Eve continued to strut down the hallway and could feel everything going back to the way it was.

* * *

Class was out of session for the moment and this was the best time to get something out of the way. AJ's laptop was on his table, going through some of the class lessons of the day – occasionally checking his email and other things. Once he minimized the screen, his background made him smile.

If he could think of something that made him so happy, it would be none other than his son, Sammy. The fact that Christy could keep this from him broke his heart but that all went away when he finally got to meet him. That all changed. In that very moment, he became a father. All this hatred went away in a split second. There was nothing to be mad about any longer. No need to hold grudges when it's completely unnecessary.

Though out of this all, he wanted to so much more than just to have them in San Francisco. He wanted something more – he didn't want them to be so far away. There were moments where he'd be dying to be Sammy and he can't just take the six hour drive up there. There had to be something down to make this easier.

He dragged his mouse over to the email he had just minimized and began to write.

_To: Christy Hemme  
From: AJ Styles  
Subject: No Subject_

_Christy,_

_I just got back home last night. It was a long drive but I'm okay. I was actually happy that I wasn't here during the earthquake but my apartment is completely fine. Nothing seriously damaged just a few things broke but my big screen television took a big toll. Guess I won't be able to watch any games any time soon._

_I hope you and Sammy are all doing very well. Honestly, when I first came up there I was just so upset that you'd keep something like this from me. It bothered me so much but once I saw his face, that all disappeared. There was no reason to hold grudges or anything along the lines of that. I'm ready to move forward._

_The time I spent with Sammy was great. I now know what it's like to be a dad and I couldn't have a better feeling. I know you raised him well while I wasn't around. He's going to be one heck of a boy when he's older. _

_Now, the reason of this email was not just to let you know I'm okay and all of that. There's a lot more to it you don't know about. Since I left, I couldn't stop having this empty feeling in my heart – like something was missing. I couldn't describe it. A part of me was missing, right after I left you guys and I know what it is now. Sammy, he's the part of me that's missing. I don't want to pressure you or force you into something you don't want to do but I was hoping you could consider maybe moving back down to LA so I could be closer to Sammy. Your parents said that they even wanted you to move back and you'd consider. Now, he's my plea. When I was with Sammy, I felt this need to be there – Christy, I want to be the father he deserves. I missed out on too much and I refuse to miss out any longer. Just consider it and let me know what you'd want to do but please understand that I just want to do this for his sake – he deserves his father._

_AJ_

Sent – and now comes the hardest part of this all. AJ leaned back onto his seat, minimizing the screen and staring at his son. The game he had to play now was the waiting game.

* * *

The hallway was incredibly packed that early afternoon – a lot more than usual. It bothered Tiffany as she a little claustrophobic at times. Body odor: the one things that makes to whole thing even worse. West Bev may be this high class school and all but some people haven't heard of showers or deodorant.

This was bound to happen – someone falling on their face and Tiffany was the girl chosen to fall flat on her face with some books falling over as well. With the strength that remained, she pulled herself up and started to pick up some books in the process but was lucky enough to get some help. Much larger hands picked up two of her books and as she came forward, she found the blonde individual smiling, "Thanks Jack."

He smirked, "Is it me or are these hallways getting more and more crowded? I had a class earlier – I wanted to get across the hall. Normally, it takes me ten seconds and today it took me ten minutes," Once Tiffany was back up onto her feet, the two began to walk and talk, "How was Louisiana for New Years? Did you go to New Orleans?"

"I opted out – I went with my old friend to this little family party. Nothing special – I'm sure you had a blast at New Years. After all, you were in Hawaii"

"– eh, mine could have been better but I'll take it," Jack's tone quickly made a change, "There's something I have to tell you – there's some news going around school that you should know about but try not to be too alarmed."

Obviously, this wasn't going to be too good so he might as well get this off this chest now, "Tiffany – there's a rumor –"

"Oh my god! Look, West Bev's own personal hooker!"

Layla El – when you thought she was gone, she only came back for some more. Tiffany twisted her neck, facing the brunette. That awful smirk had been etched in Tiffany's mind, seeing it one time too many. In the midst of the hallway, they gave one another a stare down. Jack was a little too late on telling Tiffany of the newest rumor to be going around school these days.

Layla came forward, inches away from Tiffany. This devious vixen had a few things up her sleeve, "I don't mean to interrupt business between you and your client but I just have to know why you're charging so much for one evening with Tiffany – clearly, there is nothing to really experience with you. So Jack, tell me something – was Tif Tif here really worth the two hundred grand? I'm sure evenings you and I have spent together were worth much more than that."

An eye roll was offered. Tiffany remained speechless – not a word slipped through her lips. Jack couldn't bear for Tiffany to hear this any longer and pulled Tiffany away, into a more secluded area so he could talk to her. They barged into an empty classroom and Jack immediately shut the door.

"Let me just explain, please," Tiffany didn't say a word but nodded, "Cody was telling me that after I gave you that check for Harvard, Layla apparently saw everything and overhead us. She's just twisting the words to make it sound better but really, it's not true. I would never do anything like that and I hope that maybe you'll believe me. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore – you don't deserve to be treated the way you do. You're a sweet and amazing girl and you deserve a lot better. I can set this whole thing straight –"

"No – just don't do anything," Her sudden interruption caused him to pause for a moment, allowing her to speak, "I've learned something with Layla – you can't win with her. No matter how hard you try, she'll always twist and turn everything around. It just goes to show how pathetic she is. Let her be pathetic – I'm going to keep my head held high and act like nothing happens."

"Are you sure about all of that?"

"I am – you know, Layla may be having all the fun now but one day she's going to get a taste of her own medicine. It's called Karma – and it's a bitch."

Through her experiences with Layla, Tiffany has gotten stronger. Through each and every little stupid attempt to get Tiffany upset, she had gotten stronger and found other ways to deal with everything. It's part of life and it's Layla – you can't change these. All we know is that she'll get what's coming to her soon and that's what kept Tiffany so strong and confident. Layla may have done a lot of bad things to her but there's plenty of good she's done for Tiffany – as odd as it sounds.

"But I do want to thank you telling me for everything. You're really looking out for me, defending me as well and I appreciate that so much. It's good to know I've got someone's eye on me when I walk these hallways. You're really an amazing friend," Tiffany came forward, placed yet another kiss on his cheek, "I've got to go – I'm almost late for class."

Tiffany departed the classroom and Jack was left there feeling up his cheek. The rush of feelings came through his body, similar to the first time she had laid a kiss on his cheek. It was rather odd – he didn't want to just be friends with her. He wanted something more out of this other than just being friends. Friends wasn't enough for him and it had to be something more. These feelings don't come that often and it was giving Jack a big signal.

Jack "The Swag" Swagger wanted to be with Tiffany Terrell – He was falling big time.

* * *

"So you two haven't seen Evan anywhere?"

Maryse said no. Ted said no. Kelly wasn't having the best luck in finding where Evan was. She knew he was in school somewhere and she wanted to talk to him as soon as she could find him. It was very important that she speaks to him today. Ted and Maryse – who were hanging out in the courtyard – weren't providing much help for the blonde.

"I know right now he has physical education," Ted answered and that didn't keep Kelly with them any longer.

Kelly turned her heel and left the courtyard, cutting through the hallways trying to get down to the field where she knew when physical education was being held. The people were running around the track, some were tossing a football around the field while some of the girls were just sitting in the corner and talking to one another – it looked a lot like a normal day with physical education.

Once she had reached the bleachers, she found what she was looking for sitting down on the bleachers adjusting his sneakers, "So here's where you've been hiding."

As he got up, Evan found Kelly – looking beautiful in her floral print dress – standing right before him with a smile. He seemed content but a little nervous as well, "Oh hey Kelly."

Enough small talk – she wanted to get down to business, "I've been doing a lot of thinking about us when I was in Boise. I missed you a lot. I couldn't stop thinking about you and that's when I realized that you were the one I was meant to be with. It's so clear Evan – I was made for you and that's that. I love you."

Kelly stood there smiling, after her little confession but Evan clearly had different plans about everything. He didn't have the same exact mindset that Kelly possessed.

"I think we should talk about this," His stern voice wasn't foreshadowing anything good, "Kelly, you were the first girl I have ever fallen in love with. I had a crush on you for ages but refused to tell but I learned something over the past few weeks. As much as we enjoy ourselves when we are together, there are so many things that go wrong at the same time. You were cheating on me with one of my best friends. How can I just go ahead and forget that?"

"I made a mistake but Evan, I'm human – we all make mistakes."

"You make mistakes and realize their mistakes after it's done. This mistake went on for months. Don't tell me you all of a sudden had this realization that we're meant to be, when we're not. If we were meant to be, you would have never cheated. You would have never down what you did or let it gone this long."

Alone – that's how she was feeling right about now. Evan seriously wasn't pulling any joke or anything like that. He was speaking the truth and Kelly wasn't exactly liking what she was hearing but it's reality. There was that piece of her heart exiting her body and going along with Evan.

"As much as I don't want to do this Kelly but I have to. Sometimes when you love someone so much, you've got to let them go and I have to let you go. We have to be apart now – maybe in the future we can try at this again but not now, not anytime soon. I'm sorry."

He couldn't look at her any longer – he could see her heartbreaking through her eyes. He returned to his class and Kelly watched him go. He turned back once more, watching the blonde begin to shed a few tears. She turned his back to him and headed behind the bleachers. Her back crashed against the wall and slowly came down.

Whatever Kelly had was now gone and it wasn't going to come back.

* * *

"Okay, this is the last one –"

Nikki pulled Dolph forward and planted a kiss onto his lips, this being the twentieth time that this has occurred. Literally, she couldn't separate herself from him. When they were in separate classes, she could only think of him or count down the seconds until she could see him again. If you had heard there story, you'd know how odd this was. Months ago, she couldn't stand him and now, she couldn't keep her hands off of him. Funny how things change in time.

"I have to go or I'm going to miss my class and Mrs. Guerrero already hates me as it is," Dolph could feel Nikki's fingers clawing into his deep and damp platinum blonde locks. Nikki refused to let go and demanded one more kiss, which he gave into and gave her.

"Okay, you may go now. I'll see you at lunch."

When she released him, he ran for the bell and Nikki could only smile as he raced for his class. Nikki felt so – so grateful; months had gone by when she wanted someone special and she finally got what she wanted. Nikki flipped her hair back and made her way down the hallway, in typical Bella fashion. Others stared on as she strutted down the hallway, so fierce-like. It's like nothing was in her way

Until…

Halfway down the hallway, Nikki simply stayed right in her spot – not an inch would she move. Her eyes did all the work, staring directly down at the opposite end of the hallway. Along with her piercing eyes, her lips came apart for a moment, releasing a breath of air.

A woman stood before there. A sly smirk, accompanied by a long brown hair and eyes just like hers – this woman wasn't certainly just any ordinary woman. She was much different or should we say she was exactly the same as Nikki?

Her name was Brie Bella – sister of Nikki Bella – actually, twin sister to be exact. These two had a long and dark history. Sisters – yes they were – but they acted far from that. It was like a war was brewing between the two of them if anything. Since they were children, there's always been that division they had. They never acted like sister – if you saw them, you'd think that they were enemies, let alone sisters.

Nikki looked directly into her sister's eyes and saw the same fire she saw when she left. It made her happy that her parents got divorced and she had the option of leaving with her father. It was probably the greatest decision she had ever made in her life and she stood by it. If she had to be in her sister's presence any longer, it could have possibly turned violent if anything.

Brie could see the fear being struck right into her sister's eyes. Brie Bella was back in Beverly Hills, on a much permanent basis. This would be a story for the ages and certainly going to be the talk around school for a while now.

She wasn't stupid. She knew this was going to tear Nikki apart on the inside. Her reason for leaving Tucson in the first place was to live a peaceful life, far away from her but Brie, she didn't want that. You see, Brie wasn't a happy person – always jealous of her sister so she did everything possible to ruin her sister's life. Whether it involved stealing a guy away from her or ruining clothing of hers – she wanted to make Nikki feel as low as possible – scum of the earth low. It was her lifelong goal to see her sister miserable and it was the truth, Brie wasn't going to lie.

The two came forward, approaching one another. Brie smirked while Nikki was upset. Her glare only made the smirk on Brie's lips wider and wider.

"Twinny – is that how you're going to greet you sister? No hug or kiss? That's not very nice."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nikki wanted to get to the point – no bullshit. Her sister wouldn't come here if she didn't have a reason, "What are you doing in Beverly Hills? You're supposed to be living in Arizona with mom."

"Well, Mom started dating this guy – filthy rich by the way – and he asked her to move in with her and you know where he lives. He lives right here on 23 Lexington lane. We're going to be one big happy family, with her new boyfriend."

Lexington lane – the same street Nikki lived in, "We're on 27 Lexington lane. We live on the same block."

In a fake and sporadic way, Brie tossed her hands and proceeded to speak in a giddy like fashion, "Oh my, we're going to be neighbors? This is like so awesome," Brie went on and on, "We can have sleepovers and all of that. Remember those times we had sleepovers with all of our friends – we'd be playing with our dolls."

"I didn't have dolls – you selected to cut their heads off and slumber parties with you weren't so fun when you tried to pull the bed wetting trick on me. Actually, anything you and I did together was never fun and always involved me getting hurt – thanks for all of that by the way."

"Oh Nikki, I'm different now. I've decided to let the past be the past and I'm starting a brand new chapter of my life today. I say we be friends, for the best and forget about what happened in the past."

But Nikki was on a different page when it came to this – she didn't trust Brie one bit and wasn't willing to give her trust that easily. As the saying goes – Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Nikki wasn't taking any chances at this point.

"Nice try, Brie but I'm not falling for this. Listen, you stay as far away from me and I'll stay as far away from you – do we have a deal?"

She smirked and Nikki only released one more glare and ran off. Brie stood there, crossing her arms and looked around her setting and she said softly, "Nikki, You and I have some unfinished business. This war is far from over."

* * *

The household hadn't been this empty in about five years on the very day they moved into the home they had fallen in love with. It didn't contain a single imperfection. The first five years were spent well, raising their two children but now there lives needed a readjustment and it required a move. Huntington Beach wasn't far from here – forty minute drive tops – it's just the fact that they wouldn't be in Beverly Hills was odd. For over thirty years, both Randy and Stacy had called this place their home. Their childhood, teenage and young adult memories lingered in there air here and it would be a difficult transition.

Stacy stood before her empty hallway. The wedding picture she and Randy had on the wall was no longer there, the rug that was positioned directly in front of the door was gone and the coat racket was gone and not a coat laid in sight. It surely was going to be an odd transition but one that was necessary. This place had carried its good but had it's bad. Their new home would be the perfect place to begin new memories and in general – a new life, for herself, Randy and her children. They deserved it and so did she.

Randy returned from the hospital only two days before Christmas and once the holidays had passed, they were lucky to find a beautiful home that rested right off the beach. It's on one of those streets where you can have your children ride their bicycles on the streets, the ice scream truck sounding in the distant and the vibe of happiness. It couldn't have been any more perfect and the Ortons couldn't have said no. So in the snap of a finger, an offer was made, an offer was accepted and another home was on the market.

Luck was really on their side – after getting the home they wanted, Randy was offered a job at small business firm. Life couldn't have gotten any better. Stacy would return to her duty as being a mother, eventually sending her children off to school one day when she was there. There was a plan with this new life and it couldn't be disrupted.

Continuing to stare senselessly into the air, Stacy suddenly felt the presence of two large tattooed arms come across her slender body. The muscular cuts in his arms brushed up against her shoulder and she eventually hooked her hands onto his. He traveled up to her ear and whispered rather loudly, "The car's packed and the movers are ready to leave. Now, are you ready to leave?"

"Can you believe this? Randy, this was our first home together. Even with all the bad memories that surround this, I still can't help but think of all the wonderful memories we had. Connor took his first steps right here – oh and Emily said her first words on the stairs right over there. In the kitchen, we've got there measuring wall and after every birthday, we'd see how tall they've gotten. I'm going to miss this place."

Randy lips curved into a smile, before he turned Stacy over and faced her, "I know, I think of all the good times we had here but I'm looking forward to even more memories we'll have at the new house. Speaking of that measuring wall, I managed to cut out that piece of the wall and we're going to put it in the new house. We'll even mark on it from which was from the new house and the old."

It made Stacy feel good about everything – it was like a piece of the house was going to go with her and would always be with her, "That was so nice of you," She leaned over, giving him a peck and that's when she turned one last time to fast her former home, "Goodbye house! We'll be sure to come and visit some time and if you're ever in Huntington Beach, stop by."

Randy guided the blonde toward the door, eventually shutting it one last time. The car was parked in the driveway, the kids were already in and two familiar faces decided to join the pair before they depart – John and Torrie.

"It still hasn't hit me yet. I still think I'm going to be a few blocks away from you and meanwhile you'll be an hour away. How will I survive? Who will I complain about John too?" Torrie was blabbing out how different it would be, as she came forward and greeted Stacy with a hug, "Be prepared to make plenty of visits here and expect visits from us as well."

"Of course," And Stacy launched herself forward, embracing her best friend, "I don't know what I would do without you, seriously. You're the greatest best friend anyone could ask for, you know that?"

"No, you are the greatest best friend."

John came over to Randy, giving him an embrace and said, "Remember, we got tickets to the Laker's game next week. Your ass better show up."

"It's the Lakers! I would never miss one of their games – especially when you're paying," John pulled away, giving a little glare but quickly chuckled.

Randy and Torrie exchanged a quick embrace, as did John and Stacy before they were scheduled to leave. Randy and Stacy entered the car while John reached over and kept his arm around Torrie's waist and they waved gently as the car pulled away out of the driveway and down the street.

"Goodbye house."

Stacy muttered the final words as the final images of her home escaped her mind as she made her way down the street in the car. Randy kept his eyes directly onto the road as Stacy could only think that this was the first time she'd be living in a completely different place. She wondered about what the future was holding for her when she would get to her new home and what it would be like. As they got onto the highway, she also thought about how good this was going to be for her and for them as well. With everything that had happen, a change of scenery could give them that new breathe of fresh air.

Randy looked over, saw the kids were asleep and saw how Stacy's eyes were concentrated through the window and decided to ask, "Something wrong honey?"

Mrs. Orton twisted her head over, smiling at Randy and she whispered softly, "I'm fine – I'm just excited about the new life we're going to begin."

The Pacific coast highway was a beautiful road that provided a beautiful view. Stacy realized something – everything was going to be okay.

It was all going to be okay.

* * *

**A/N: **It's been a while since i've gotten a chance to update - a little writer's block with this story - i don't know why.  
But i'm happy i went forward and got this chapter done.  
Randy & Stacy have left but they'll be back :) I have a plan to bring back all the characters from the first two stories :) It's going to be exciting!  
Please be sure to drop a review :) thanks xx  
AND two new stories up: LIVE TO TELL & NOT LIKE THE MOVIES - please do check them out.  
AND (last and) i've got a twitter - follow me at thatCHICKx

_Next chapter - Cody and Evan have a confrontation & Eve introduces the girls to Tiffany  
_


	40. Coming to Terms

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty _- Coming to Terms

Los Angeles's biggest asset – it's one of a kind beaches.

Many Californians hustle their way to the beaches, especially if the weather was pleasant enough. The hot and steamy rays belonging to the sun shined down onto this young woman's already sun kissed skin. The sunglasses over her eyes were the only things keeping the sun out of her eyes for the moment. Decked out from head to toe, Tiffany had on a two piece bikini – blue, her favorite color – but a short dress remained over her bikini, hiding away the killer body she had to offer.

This early Sunday afternoon was going to be spent out on the beach, beside the Beverly Hills Beach Club. The nerves rattled her tiny body – why was that? When time came to meet some new people, the Louisiana native always grew somewhat nervous about how everything was going to turn out. Typically normal, Tiffany though otherwise – Eve, her one friend, kept reassuring her that everything was going to be okay but clearly, she doubted the whole thing.

Entering the parking lot was a silver convertible and without taking a single guess, she knew it was them. Loud music and laughing filled the air surrounding the four ladies – two blondes and two brunettes.

She'd always known who the three ladies were – merely seconds upon her arrival at West Beverly. Maryse, Kelly and Nikki were a set of ladies that Tiffany clearly feared to befriend. Based on assumptions, that click you needed in a friendship to work wasn't going to be present. The differences the four ladies had were drastic. Taking one look at Maryse, as she exited the parked car, she knew this wasn't going to be much of a good day but she'd already dug herself in a hole too big.

The flash and exciting Maryse came rolling out of the driver's seat with sunglasses and a white dress, similar to Tiffanys with her hair roaring out in the wind. The other three ladies opted for Bikini tops and jean shorts – Eve in red, Kelly in green, Nikki in Orange while Maryse, though with the dress on, could visibly see the neon pink top.

The Latina quickly smiled and came forward to Tiffany, embracing the newest West Bev student. Ending the embrace, Eve found all the girls standing before Tiffany and her and felt this was the perfect time to say, "Everyone, this is Tiffany. Tiffany, meet Maryse, Nikki and Kelly."

"Hi," Shyly, she answered, "It's nice to meet you all."

On her toes, the French Canadian was quick on her toes to notice Tiffany and things about her, "I know you – there's that rumor going around school that Jack Swagger paid you almost 200,000 dollars to have sex with him. Way to go girl!"

Her cheer-like comment wasn't being well received. Tiffany felt ashamed while Nikki and Kelly felt that Maryse was being herself, a little too much. Neither of the ladies wanted to offend the girl from Louisiana. Eve quickly responded back, with a little anger present, "That didn't happen – it's just another one of those stupid rumors that are going around. It's not true."

"Okay, don't go all crazy on me. I'm sorry but can we get onto the sand, I'd like to get some rays."

Going ahead of the pack, she left the others behind while Maryse made her way to the beach. Nikki came forward, wanting to reassure Tiffany, "Sometimes she's a little blunt but you'll get use to her."

"– she just really wants a sun tan," added Kelly, "You'll warm up to her – to all of us."

"I hope so," If Maryse's little outburst was any sign of things to come, it began to worry her. Could any friendship form out of this? Kelly and Nikki soon opted to join Maryse, who already found them a spot. Eve stood back for a moment, seeing that Tiffany was nervous, "Eve, I don't think any of this is much of a good idea. I think it's better that I go home and I'll leave you four by yourselves. Clearly, it will be much better if I am not there."

"Don't say that – it's going to be fun. Remember what you told me? You wanted more friends and this is your chance. I know it may seem tough but I know if you be yourself, you'll be fine. This is your senior year and you need to be surrounded by friends."

"But I just feel that I won't warm up to the girls. They all seem really nice, even Maryse but its just weird I feel. I'm not going to click with them and I think its better that you just go and you and I can hang out another time. I just don't feel comfortable."

As much courage and strength she tried to give Tiffany, a decision was already made on her part and Eve wasn't going to force her to do something she clearly wasn't comfortable with, "I'm not going to push you anymore, especially if you're feeling uncomfortable. But promise me that you will give this another chance again?"

Maybe on a different occasion, this will be better but it wouldn't be today, "I'd give it another shot," She smiled, "And thank you for even doing this for me – you're a good friend."

It goes to show you the type of person Tiffany really was. Behind all of that, you see that she wasn't going to give up easily but hopefully that maybe something else will work another time. Once in her car, Tiffany pulled out and sent one last wave to Eve before driving off.

Eve descending onto the beach, feeling the mild wind and air brush her body. There was already one lady on the ground, catching some rays. Nikki and Kelly on the other hand, fixed up their blankets and got themselves preoccupied with some magazines.

Kelly only saw Eve, no sight of Tiffany, "Where'd Tiffany go?"

"She decided to leave – she wasn't feeling too well."

"You hear that Maryse," Nikki quickly called out to the blonde who was enjoying the weather. Nikki wasn't stupid – it was obvious after Maryse's silly comment that caused Tiffany's sudden departure, "Eve's friend left because you were being yourself. Way to go."

"Wait, she left because of me?" It took a moment like this for Maryse to feel guilty for her actions and what they really do, "I feel like a bitch now."

"She'll be fine – don't worry about it."

Even after Eve said 'not to worry,' Maryse was still feeling at fault. While her head came back down to the towel, she thought about what she did and why she always did silly things like that? She actually felt guilty – which is rare for her to have this feeling.

* * *

That Sunday evening, the mood at the Beverly Hills beach club was quite quiet. Minimal people were present – only a few individuals – a tennis player seated opposite of her at the bar, another man two seats away from him, giving Eve perverted like looks. The only other man present was a new bartender, making himself very comfortable while trying to fix up Eve one of the beach club's best fruit smoothies.

Eve wasn't paying attention much to him. She placed all of her focus onto a few pamphlets on the table surrounding her. One was from CU – California University, SJU – San Jose University and United University in Phoenix. Senior year was stressing because of 1) College decisions and 2) making sure you passed everything you had to pass to get your diploma.

Each school provided so many different things – for instance – California University is located in the heart of Los Angeles and very much close to home. Many of her current friends have plans of attending and they offer a wonderful performing arts program which is right up Eve's alley.

San Jose University was a huge school, not too far out of San Francisco. It's believed to be a beautiful school, a wonderful education board and the experience to actually live there exists. Clearly, there's a long commute from LA to San Jose.

And then there was United University in Phoenix – it was a huge school and known for it's arts program. It was the home of several actors and actresses before they hit the big leagues. It could be Eve's ticket to the top of the world, if she chose to go there.

But first, she wondered why she was even thinking about schools when none of the acceptance letters have gone out? Eve was a dreamer, thinking about her life at the new school and all of the new possibilities they have to offer – decision day would be coming soon and then everything will be in the right place to make a final decision.

The bartender, who just finished up Eve's drink, presented the smoothie off to the Latina, "And we have your drink ready for you – enjoy," said the tall man, with a little spikey touch to his hair.

"Thank you," Her lips parted into a smile before sipping onto the drink. While tasting the juicy orange contents, Eve took notice that she never seen this guy before working here, "Are you new here?"

"I am new and that's the very first smoothie I made – how is it so far?"

"It's delicious," Eve smiled, examining the strong masculine features existing on the bartender. His hair stood up, tall and by a look at his arms, you could see the material almost tearing off his arm due to the immense size of it, "I'm Eve by the way."

"Nice to meet you Eve – I'm Alex Riley," He quickly took notice at the pamphlets she all had beside her, "You must be a senior in high school – you have three pamphlets with three different schools on them. Having a tough time deciding?"

Her eyes fell down to the ground, examining all three pamphlets, "The funny thing to all of this is that I haven't even been accepted but I'm worrying over all the schools. So many of them look really good but I like the idea of these three. They offer what's best for me."

"I'm sure you've got nothing to worry about. By the looks of it, I can tell that you're a smart girl," Alex reminisced about his time fighting over what school he wanted to go to, "I was in your position just a year ago. I had two schools – one my mom liked and the other my dad liked. They both pressured and eventually I had to pick."

"I think you went with your dad."

"No."

"Then your mother?"

"Wrong again," Two strikes and she was out – Alex went on to reveal everything, "I didn't pick either school. I found this other school that had everything I wanted so know I am a proud freshmen at California University."

"That's one of the places I'd want to go to but I am a little unsure of it," Expressed Eve, over the concern of selecting her future choice of study, "I mean, it's close to home and all and I think I stand a big chance in getting in there. I have to see what happens with it when or should I say if I get accepted."

"You will – I know you will," The confidence Alex pushed into Eve created courage and bought Eve's self-esteem to a point where she really believed she could get into the school, "And I'm a freshmen there – I could show you around one day if you're interested? I know the ins and the outs of the entire school."

"That would be really cool if you could do that – that's if there's no trouble."

He nodded, "It's no trouble at all."

He was only a mere stranger but yet he went on to go do something like this for here. He barely knew her and she barely knew him but it felt as if they've known one another for ever. Something was telling Eve that this was a good thing. Eve took out a spare pen from her purse and pulled out his hand in the process

"What are you –"

It didn't take Alex long to notice the ten digits Eve was applying to the palm of his hand in deep blue ink. His first day at work was going much well than he had ever expected. First getting down his first smoothie down right and now getting to talk to a beautiful girl, which could possibly lead to something more – yeah, it was definitely a good first day.

"Text me whenever you get a chance and we can go," Taking her drink into her hand, she slipped off the seat, "Nice meeting you Alex," And away she went. A sly smirk was brought forth onto her lips, feeling his eyes burning up against her body.

Alex hated to see her go but loved to watch as she leaves.

* * *

The evening had been going by much too quickly – according to Maryse. A dinner at the beach club, followed by a walk on the beach and now Maryse found herself, accompanied by her boyfriend, about to take a little dip into the pool. Luckily, her mother was out of town for a few weeks and Miss Ouellet was more than lucky to have the entire hilltop mansion to herself and Ted, of course.

Removing her robe, her purple bikini top and bottom was soon revealed why Ted had on his red swim trunks. For the moment, Ted could only stare in an inappropriate matter – typically of males in their teenage years. Her sweet giggle escaped her lips, "You like what you see?"

"I like."

His simple and quick answer caused laughter to feel sip through her soft lips. Slowly, Maryse made her way into the pool via the stairs. Ted made a different decision and opted a much more messier way to enter. While remaining at the stairs, Ted sprinted for the pool and launching himself into a cannonball form. Maryse was not pleased as some of the water had gotten onto her.

Once Ted had reached the surface, he wiped back his hair and greeted by a splash directly to his eyes, "Hey, what was that for?"

"You got water on me."

Once Ted's eyes opened up, he saw a practically dry Maryse with only her legs in the pool, "Maryse, your more dry in the pool than you were outside. It's just a little water – it ain't going to hurt you."

"I know," With that said, she gently descended into the pool, eventually getting up to her chest, "Oh its cold," The water created the chilling sensation to rush up and down her. In one sharp motion, she quickly ducked under the water and quickly rushed back up, pushing her hair back in the same instance, "Now it's even colder."

Rushing forward, Ted pulled up to Maryse and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her into a deeper portion of the pool, "I got you – I'll keep you nice and warm," The suggestion made her smile. Her arms quickly came around his neck, locking onto him tightly, "I wish you could just always be here with me. I hate nights we spend together and you have to suddenly leave."

"Trust me – I don't want to go back to my home," Ted's home wasn't a happy home – it was spent dodging his step-father. Conflicts arose in his home, causing chaos. If there was one thing Ted want, it was to take his mother and sister out of the home and into a safer one – preferable with his father, "I go home for my sister. I know she's safe but sometimes I worry about her. I just want my mother to dump that loser and go back with my dad. I want to be that family we once were. We were so much happier."

"I feel the same way, when it comes to my family. My mother's alone but she says she's perfectly fine but I know something's wrong. My father – and his whore – I just don't see what he see in her. She's just another gold digger. All I want is to have my family together. All those kids in those movies already get there happy families and I want that too but I never get it."

Ted could relate to his girlfriend's issue and was really happy to have her opening up to her like this which provoked him to lay his lips against hers in the process. Much out of nowhere, Maryse was a bit surprised not that she didn't like it.

"What was that for?"

"You're opening up to me – you never really gotten so deep into a topic like that before. Normally, you don't go all out on topics that bother you like that."

"Well, you're my boyfriend – you're the one guy out there that I will always trust. Whatever I say to you, i know you listening and you'll always stick through it. That's the point of relationships – for us to stick together and I want to stick together with you for as long as I can."

A smile formed onto his lips, "I'm lucky," He went forward given in a much deeper kiss than usual. Maryse could feel the fireworks burning between the two. This passion, this feeling never existed in past relationships. Maryse could feel Ted pulling onto the strings of her bikini and knew where this was going. She stopped the kiss and looked at him for a moment, "You want to do this here?"

"If you want to, you know I'll want too."

Their lips crashed once again, never separating but their clothes eventually separated from their bodies.

With the position of Maryse's home, nearly anyone could see what they were doing but neither of the two cared at all. They wouldn't expect anyone to be watching what they were during in the pool – but there was someone.

The binoculars rested up against the face. The individual's eyes watched on and grew upset, watching the two having sex in Maryse's pool. No longer being able to watch this, the shadow disappeared into a car and sped down the street in a fit of fury.

* * *

The two bare bodies fell back onto the bed, clutching the sheets to conceal their bodies. Heavy breathing filled the air, while sweat traveled down their bodies. Her hair was somewhat moist, particularly around her roots. The comfort of the bed was truly appreciated after the 'workout' the two just had.

Before anything else could be said, she peeled a kiss onto his lips and slowly positioned herself, hugging onto his body. Nikki's hands traveled down Dolph's chiseled chest, eventually resting it over his upper body. Dolph's eyes remained closed while his heavy breathing toned down. _That was great _– the selected words were said in the blonde's mind.

His toned out arm kept Nikki close up to him. The Bella twin always loved that feeling she'd endured while resting in Dolph's arms. The sense of security and safety rose out of it. She thought that she was safe in his arms and that nothing could happen.

The clock had just struck 11:00pm when Nikki suddenly heard some noise coming from her window, "What was that?" Immediately, Nikki's body rose up, out of Dolph's security. He too grew alarmed and found Nikki rushing to put on her tiny shorts and picked up Dolph's zip-up sweater. While she rushed over to her window, Dolph frantically searched for his underwear that was located somewhere in the room.

Nikki's eyes darted out of the window. A man, a woman and a girl that looked a lot like herself. Instantly, Nikki shot out a glare targeting her sister, "What the hell is my mother and sister doing talking to my dad?"

"Found them," Celebrated Dolph, while putting on his boxer briefs and soon joined her at the window, "What are you looking at?"

"My mother and my sister – they're talking outside but I don't know what," Nikki's eyes couldn't be taken off of Brie, standing there in an arrogant pose, "The woman with the short brown hair is my mother and the girl that looks completely like me is my sister. I want to hear about what they're talking about."

"Wait, you said your dad wasn't home? What the hell is he going to do when he sees me in your bedroom in just my underwear?" While Nikki focused onto her sister, Dolph focused on the consequences he could possibly suffer if Mr. Bella found a half-naked man in her daughter's bedroom, "I better slip out through the back and avoid being murdered by your father."

Even with Dolph's rant, her mind only subjected to watching her mother and sister conversing with her father. With all the luck in the world, this window had to be jammed and couldn't be opened. _Just my luck. _Her arms were crossed and frustration grew in her tiny little body.

"I want to go down and see what they are talking about –"

"Nikki – wait! My shirt –"

Too late. Nikki raced down the hallway while Dolph frantically searched for his pants and other garments. Slowly, she crept down the stairs to listen in what had been happening. The Bella positioned herself through the steps, catching a glimpse of her family. Based on her mother's facial expression, she wasn't too happy.

"I don't think we'll be able to make it. On Saturday, Nikki and I have lunch scheduled with one of my clients. Particularly, I don't believe inviting the two of us to your house warming party isn't quiet the smartest idea. The girls really don't get along," Michael Bella – Nikki and Brie's father – spoke in defense, "Maybe another time."

"But Brie told me that Nikki and she had attempted to make up at school. You do know that the two of them are currently enrolled at the same school?" Allison Bella – Nikki and Brie's mother – responded to Michael's claim, "Brie had spoken to me claiming that the two have slowly been reconciling."

Dolph had eventually joined Nikki beside the stairs, with all of his clothing except his sweater which left his bare chest exposed, "What's going on? What are they talking about?"

"Well, my mother and sister are lying – that's what's going on," It had reached the point where Nikki felt it was necessary to confront the two, "Let's go Dolph."

"Nikki – ah crap."

Nikki raced down the rest of the stairs, quickly facing her mother and sister. Her father acknowledged her appearance, "Oh, Nikki I thought you were asleep," Moments after, Dolph followed. He was embarrassed – utterly embarrassed and alarmed by Michael's expression. Michael grew concern finding that Nikki was occupied with a shirtless man, "Nikki, who's this? What's this man doing shirtless in my house?"

To make matters worse, Dolph offered a hand, "I'm Dolph Ziggler – your daughter's boyfriend. Sorry to meet under circumstances like this," Mr. Bella didn't respond to the hand – only a disgusted look, "I guess you don't like handshakes – I'll be quiet now."

Brie laughed, while her mother was more focused on Nikki, "Nikki, honey – why don't you come to the house warming party and we can reconnect and all. You and Brie have already tried so why not we give it a shot. I didn't move back here just because I found a new person in my life – I came back to be closer to you and our family."

"Your family? You didn't seem to care about this family when you decided to cheat on Dad," Nikki lashed out – all of her anger was being vanquished out, "We would be a family if you hadn't screwed everything up," Now her attention was directed over to Brie, acting as if she was unaware of anything that happened, "Stop lying Brie – I know you well enough to tell if you're lying. You don't want to repair our friendship – that's done and over with. I don't want anything to do with either one of you. I'm perfectly fine the place I was before you two decided to show up."

"Oh sister," The other twin interrupted, "I'm sorry that I'm just trying to be the better person and move pass everything we've been through. I want everything to go back to the way things should have already been."

_Bullshit. _The single word to invade Nikki's mind during her sister's touching confession, "I'm not buying it Nikki."

"Alison, Brie – it's getting late. I believe it's time for you two to go and I'd like to speak to Nikki and this," Michael eyed Dolph, not in much of a good way, "David," Dolph released a deep breath at the incorrect answer, "We'll have to speak another day on all of this."

Allison didn't even say a single goodbye, to neither her daughter nor ex-husband. Her back turned quickly to them and raced out the door. Brie, on the other hand, selected to shoot a sly little wave over to her sister. The smile etched across her face wasn't real at all – clearly, it was that fake smile. Nikki took the justice of walking over to the door, replicating Brie's expression and slammed the door shut, rattling the house at the same time.

"Daddy, can we move? Like – off this street and onto a new one. I can't live across those monsters."

"Before we talk about these monsters, I have a question – when were you going to tell me that you have a boyfriend?"

Dolph sighed and could only think to himself – _this isn't going to be good._

* * *

Early that Monday morning, as classes were a mere half an hour away from starting – Cody Rhodes made his way into the building. The man was exhausted. It was at times like these he regretted playing Xbox until three in the morning, knowing he had to be up at seven in the morning. His groggy eyes told the entire story.

His reluctantly walked based the other zombies and was making his usually turn onto the corner hallway, to go down to the locker room. It was empty and as he made his way down, he quickly made eye contact with the other individual coming from the opposite direction. His was a little smaller than Cody but he noticed him right away. Evan Bourne was standing at the other end of the hallway, staring right at Cody.

The two hadn't made any form of contact since the whole Kelly incident occurred. It left their friendship scarred and strained. Cody's actions were wrong and he knew it but did that stop him? Nope. His other intentions got in the way too much and it was responsible for the fiasco he brought onto himself. Why did he fall in love with another girl, especially when that girl was one of your best friend's girlfriend? It was wrong and Cody had to excuse to defend it.

Evan on the other hand, still held a small grudge on Cody. He lost his trust in one of this closet friends and that meant trouble. When there is no trust, there is no friendship. Trust is key and there was nothing that could else that could keep a friendship stable. Trust was vital and Evan lost all his trust with Cody after the entire incident. The two only grew farther apart from one another and it was only growing deeper and deeper.

Making his ascent into the hallway, Evan soon followed. Evan kept his head down but Cody looked straight, occasionally looking over to see if Evan had said anything or looked at him. Once they passed by one another, Cody stopped for a moment – he couldn't let any of this go on any longer. This had to come to an end.

"Evan, wait up one second," Turning around, Evan found his eyes in direct contact with Cody, "I want to talk to you for a second," Cody finished his sentence.

"What do we have to talk to each other about?" The attitude given in his tone was well deserved, "What is it that you have to say?"

"I just want to apologize," Plain and simple, Cody brought forth the topic he wanted to speak upon, "I want to apologize for everything – for everything I did. I have to be a man and own up to what I did. I'm not going to lie to you or make excuses. I'm telling you the truth. I'm sorry for that bullshit I put you through. I'm sorry for lying. I'm sorry for being a bad friend. What Kelly and I did was wrong – behind wrong. I wasn't thinking. All I cared about was myself and Kelly – I didn't even take a chance to see how you were feeling. All I cared about was making myself happy and getting what I wanted but I didn't even take a moment to think of you. I'm a horrible person."

As much as he didn't want to believe him, he felt opted to believe him. There was something present – that wasn't there before that made him feel remorse after this all.

"I'm not begging you to forgive me because I'm sure after this all, you don't even want to look at me – I completely understand. What I did is pretty unforgivable but I just want to let you know that I'm sorry for everything that I did and said."

There was no point on holding on anger. Eve was another one who was having a similar situation and now Evan would follow in her footsteps. There was no reason to just hold on to anger – it creates more frustration and angst in the process. It's all unnecessary. It's all unwanted so why not let it go – just let it go and move on with your life.

Cody went back into the direction he was initially going in but Evan called out, "Cody, hold on," stepping forward to Cody who eventually turned around, he brought out his hand, "I forgive you man," He eventually smile and Cody accepted his hand doing their usual hand slap.

"Thanks man."

And just around the corner, a bunch of noise was echoing into the hallways. Jack, Ted and Dolph were pulling themselves through the hallway in one loud mess. Dolph took notice into Evan and Cody and decided to be – well, himself, "Ah, look at the happy little couple making up in the middle of the hallway. It's a Kodak moment."

They both retaliated with an eye roll before mixing in some laughter, "Shut up – Dolph-in," Cody quickly retorted back with some name calling. The huge "OHH" response was made from the guys and Dolph remained quiet, "They let you out of sea world for the day?"

"That's not funny," Dolph answered in a serious tone.

"Yeah it's not funny," Ted drew some serious tone but quickly made it into another joke, "It's actually pretty damn hysterical."

"I hate you guys."

Jack patted Dolph on his back, "The Swagg says that you're going to have to deal with it," Said Jack, referring to his ridiculous nickname, "May the Swagg be with you."

"Oh god, he's still using the Swagg nickname? I thought that was over with months ago," Evan groaned over the ridiculous nickname Jack had given himself. Jack had always found himself doing something stupid or just plain silly. All of his friends did but it was his friends and he had to deal with it.

Cody looked over at Evan during this whole thing. Finally, things were getting back to the way they were intended to be. This is how everything should be and will hopefully always be.

* * *

As the clock hit twelve, the bell rang for lunch. Tiffany escorted herself out of class and into the courtyard, where she was choosing to miss out on lunch and get a quick homework assignment completed which she suddenly forgot. Her usual spot was on a circular table, working under the cover of the umbrella. Not wasting any time at all, Tiffany started out on the work but that would soon come to a screeching halt when she heard.

"Oh Tiff Tiff!"

_Not again. _The same familiar voice has haunted her since she had begun here at West Beverly, only a few months ago. It was so hard not to respond to her. Taking her focus off of the paper, she had already found Layla, Rosa, Alicia, Maxine and now Tamina – a much threatening looking student – standing before her. Layla, of course, was right in the center being the keep in check with her image of being the center of everyone's attention.

"Oh wait you don't look too happy don't you?" Layla commented on her expression, "Do we also need to pay you to be able to be around your presence? I have a few coins because let's face it – your worth much less than two hundred thousand dollars. I still can't get it through my mind how Jack would settle for some tramp like you."

Here it goes again – the usually words slipping through Layla's lips going on and on. No one cared, no one really cared about the petty bullshit she had to offer. Rosa – one of Layla's many goons – had a little something to say, "I have a few clients if you're interested – you and I can begin our own escort company."

"No thanks."

"Oh come on Eve – these people are willing to pay," The fiery fierce fox – known as Alicia Fox – encouraged the blonde to join in on the effort, "Oh wait that's right – you only want big bucks and money like there's isn't even in your range."

The bullying had to stop – how could see handle this all? Would there be anyone to help her out in these times of need?

"Um, excuse me," The voice sounded very familiar to Layla and the girls. As they looked over to their right, they found four girls making their way to them. Maryse, Eve, Kelly and Nikki – all of them looked like a set of ladies you sincerely didn't want to mess with. Maryse, of all the ladies, looked the most upset, "Lay – do you and your fellow tramps need help with anything?"

"What are you doing here Frenchie?"

"Well, you're talking to my friend here and you seem to be bothering her. I don't like when my friends get bothered by others."

_Friend? _Tiffany felt touched. Here she was, feeling alone and pointless until someone came around and actually called out to her as a friend? Maryse stood courageous and Tiffany actually though that this could be the end of this all.

Maryse came forward, staring at Layla – it looked like an old western battle. The anger was unleashed on Maryse's side. Their history wasn't much of a happy one and it wasn't going to end well, "Look Maryse – take you and your fake little boobs out of my way. What Tiffany and I do is none of your business."

"We know what you do Layla," Kelly wasn't buying much of Layla's defense and came up into Tiffany's defense, "Your just a bully – that's all you are."

Nikki was next, "And if you mess around with Tiffany, you mess with us."

"Have we made ourselves clear?" Maryse asked one final time before receiving a nod from Layla, "Good, so now go take you, your fake little weave, that ugly dress you have on because I know you got that one off the clearance rack and your man-looking tramps out of my face. Au Revoir!"

Layla still had a few more words and it was directed toward Tiffany, "You got lucky this time Tiff Tiff – you had your friends around this time but next time –"

Layla couldn't fit the words to end her sentence when she was rudely interrupted by Eve – who shot some makeup powder directly onto the brunette's face. Layla's eyes remained shut, filled with the white powder and Maryse, being the bitch she was decided to have some fun and opted to rub it into her face a little, "Oh Layla – that color so looks good on you. I can't even see the hundreds of wrinkles you had before."

With her lips shut, Layla pushed the powder away from her eyes and found Maryse continuing to smirk away, along with all the other ladies. Before charging off, Layla released a high pitch groaned. The devious diva ran off with her goons following her.

Tiffany felt the demise of Layla El. To think she thought it would never end but the people she least expected came to her defense. The four ladies turned around and Maryse acknowledged, "Those set of bitches will not be bothering you anytime soon – now that we're around."

"Thanks you guys," Tiffany felt incredibly grateful to have them come in right on time. The defense she lacked was brought in from her newly found friends – ones she thought she was never going to click with but look how things changed, "You don't know how much it means to have someone stand up for me like that."

"We know what those ladies are up to and we weren't going to let them just do as they please," Kelly informed, taking a seat next to Tiffany as did the other girls, "Friends stick the together."

"We're friends?"

"We're friends and that's what friends do," Nikki added, "Friends don't let other friends be batter by other tramps."

Tiffany could finally feel the void in her life being filled up. When she thought it was done and over with, that all suddenly changed for the better. All of their reassuring smiles created a strength that everything was going to be okay. Tiffany looked over to Eve, smiling at her. Eve deserved the biggest thank you for everything.

"Now I'm supposed to meet Ted's mom and sister on Friday and I need to find a really nice dress. We should all go shopping after school and maybe get some coffee?" The invitation was brought up by Maryse which all the girls nodded too.

"Sounds good to me," The everlasting smile couldn't be wiped off her face – her life had officially turned out for the better.

* * *

The aftermath of last night's events left Dolph feeling a little down. His ideal way of meeting Nikki's father would go something like a small dinner where Mr. Bella would get to know the charming man who had stolen his daughter's heart. It however never involved meeting him following an intimate session between his daughter and himself and greeting him shirtless. Dolph was down in the dumps.

"Honey, it's going to be okay with my dad. I know we started off on a bad foot with him but you'll make it up to him," with all of her convincing, nothing was working in getting Dolph to believe that his first encounter with her father wasn't horrible, "Babe, it's going to be fine and don't you think for a second that if he doesn't approve of us, that I'm going to leave you. I'm in love with you and nothing's going to change that."

It managed to lighten up the day when Nikki expressed how she felt. With both hands, he took a hold of her head and immediately shot his lips onto hers. Soon after their embrace, his fingers remained clutched to her head as he gently rubbed his fingers against it, "I have the greatest girlfriend in the world."

"And I have the greatest boyfriend ever."

"I better get going – I've got to run down to the beach. The waves are sick today. I'll call you later babe," Launching forward, he left a peck on her sweet tasting lips and was off to the beach.

Once Dolph got into his car, Dolph released a wave and sped down the street. The brunette remained standing back as his car blew dust into the air. She was indeed lucky – great boyfriend, great friends – nothing was clearly getting in Nikki's way.

"Aw – now you two are just so cute – especially Dolph."

The voice was rather similar to hers and clearly, it was her sister standing behind her. She confronted her sister who remained present with her hands digging into her jeans pocket. This Bella twin was unimpressed and it showed, "You always have something to say about everything, do you?"

"It's not like I'm saying anything bad. I can see that the two of you are very close to one another. Dolph's a cute guy – he was even cuter when he came rolling down the stairs shirtless. My sister certainly knows how to pick and choose her men."

An eye roll was thrown out, "Don't talk about Dolph – leave him and my relationship with him alone and don't think of pulling something like you did with Jake and Robbie. Can you still remember what you did with them?"

"Not my fault they wanted the better Bella."

It took so much strength not to launch her fist directly into Brie's face. Brie had always had her way around guys, particularly ones Nikki had been with or interacted with. Every guy somehow went off with Brie, leaving Nikki feeling like the ugly duckling.

"Just do me a favor – stay the hell away from me, my friends and my boyfriend. Do I make myself clear?"

"I'm not here to fight with you Nikki. I'm sick and tired of all this fighting we do. We can never act like civilized human beings with one another and always get at one another's throats. I'm done doing all of that," It seemed as if Brie was the Bella who wanted to put an end to this war the two were indulged in, "I really meant what I said a few days ago. I want to have a normal life with a normal sister. We're sisters – twin sisters and we act far from it. What do you say that we just let bygones be bygones and start all over again?"

She couldn't believe her. Her brain told her not to believe what she was hearing but her heart was telling her other. A part of her wanted to look past this all and move forward. The past was the past – it should be like that. Nikki could feel the change of heart coming but feared she was making a horrible decision.

"Are you serious? You really want to call a truce and let bygones be bygones. You better not be playing around with me Brie. I'm actually putting some trust in you."

"There's no point in us fighting and arguing any longer. We're only pushing each other farther away and we deserve to be happy. I think we should let this go, start a fresh page and move on with our lives. The bickering has to end. I'm not saying we should go back to being friends and sisters but just let's be at a stable point in our lives."

Initiating the handshake, Brie stared into Nikki's eyes and waited for her response. Nikki hoped that maybe through this, life could return to the way it should have been. This was a deal with the devil and she was aware of everything so without any further ado, she accepted Brie's handshake. The deal was sealed – let the past be bygones.

"I have to go – I have my friends to meet with now," For the first time, Nikki smiled at her sister before walking right by her.

Standing there for a moment, Brie turned to find Nikki following up to all of her friends. They were laughing away, enjoying their life while she developed a scowl. The jealously was burning a hole through Brie's heart. Her sister had it all – the perfect friends, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect life. Nikki had everything Brie couldn't have.

Brie didn't come here to start a brand new life – she came here for other distinct reasons. Her hand clutched up into a fist of anger thinking of the very reasons for her surprising arrival. Brie's goal during her stay in Beverly Hills – destroy Nikki's life and take away everything that Nikki has in her life but one question remained unanswered: Where will she begin?

* * *

**A/N:** I'm beginning to feel my edge returning to this story ;)  
I want to thank all of my dedicated reviewers - glad to still have you guys around and i appreciate it so much!  
I hope i get a few more reviews in the next chapter because i'm so use to have many but i appreciate any of those i get.  
NEW STORY: LIVE TO TELL - please check it out ;)  
Please Review xx

_Next chapter - It's Valentine's Day in Beverly Hills and love isn't the only thing in the air  
_


	41. Love's in the Air

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty One _- Love's in the Air

A red rose. It's that typical flower used to signify love and the rose makes itself more present around the most romantic holiday of the year – Valentine's day.

West Bev was accustomed to holiday and its very preparations were under way. A stand entitled "Valentine-grams" was stationed right outside in the courtyard. Through the stand, you can make a special order to send that special someone a rose – male or female – that would be delivered to that at a specific time during the school day. With Valentine's day on Friday, they'd be delivered to on that very day.

Back in her old school, Tiffany had something just like this. Being the student-body president, it was her responsibility to hand out the roses. Though it was her responsibility, she was never lucky to receive one. She clearly remembered the person handing them out walking into class and saying everyone's name but hers. It made her wonder that no one really cared about here at all.

The countless amounts of students rushed over to the stand, filling out the messages for the one they want to send it to. Maybe someone is sending one to her.

"What are you staring at?" asked the approaching Jack Swagger, who found Tiffany staring senselessly, "Oh – the Valentine-grams."

"I didn't know your school had it as well. I thought my old school was the only school that had it," announced Tiffany, "I never got one at all. All my time during high school, not a single person send a rose to me. I watched the other kids all get one and I was left empty handed."

Jack found the confession hard to believe so he quickly denied her revelation, "You had to have got one – at least one."

"Nope," Tiffany's lips were tight shut for the moment, as she thought more and more about the holiday. In fact, she never even had a valentine, "It just gets worse – I never even had a Valentine. I got pity flowers from my parents last year."

"And I'm guessing you plan on spending Valentine's day all alone?"

As much as she didn't want to say it, she had to respond with a, "Yes, I'm going to be alone – again."

She didn't want to be alone but Jack thought of a perfect way to fix all of that, "Well, for the first time in a long time, I will be alone on Valentine's so I have an idea and you're not going to say no. You and I should spend Valentine's day together – I can take you out to dinner and give you your first real Valentine's day."

Was this really happening? Tiffany looked up to Jack, in a form of a smile and was surprised to hear him asking her to spend Valentine's day with her.

"So Tiffany, will you be my Valentine?"

She firmly nodded and responded, "Yes, I'd love to be your Valentine," Much to his surprise, the blonde embraced the much taller man in a second, "This is going to be my first Valentine's day date with someone. I can't wait for it. Text me the details and all and we'll stay in touch," Tiffany rushed by and the excitement radiated off her face and was present in her step.

Jack slowly watched Tiffany walk away from him and he focused his attention to the Valentine-gram stand. Jack rushed over, filling out his message and handed it over to the individual behind the desk, "I need a dozen roses sent to Tiffany Terrell –"

* * *

This could very well be the place Eve Torres decides to spend her college years. The essence that lingered on the campus just provided her with that vibe she needed. With the sun out and not a single cloud in the sky, the campus was full of fellow students. Some lingered on the green lawn; a few passed by on their bikes and other occupied the tables, chattering over a cup of coffee. Eve could imagine herself her as a CU student. In her books, this place was getting an A+.

Eve wasn't alone – Alex would be joining them shortly while Cody opted to join Eve on the journey. Similar to Eve's situation, he too was contemplating on attending CU one day. He was a shoe-in to get an athletic scholarship and the university was known for its football team and adding Cody into the mix would only strengthen the team.

"Cody, just imagine this –" the Latina organized an image of what she and Cody could expect from all of this "– we could be walking these pathways as a CU student, attend fraternity and sorority parties and embrace the beautiful scenery. Could you imagine it?"

"Yeah…"

Eve was expecting something much different than just a one worded response. When she found Cody staring out into the open, she found what was responsible for keeping Cody's mind preoccupied, "You're already embracing the scenery I see – though I thought the scenery we meant was the location and not some sorority girl's breast."

"I think I'm going to love college," If this was college, Cody Rhodes was looking forward to it, "This school has just about everything – I don't think there's nothing else I'm going to need to see so let's get going."

"Oh no your not – get back here," Before her could make a single move, the brunette linked her arm into Cody, "I went out of my way to arrange this tour for us and you're going to ditch me like that? Plus, the guy that is taking us around is on the football team and he could answer a few questions for you about the team."

"I was only kidding but where is this kid already? I want to go surfing later and this guy is making me late."

Eve directed Cody over to an unoccupied bench, setting him down, "He'll be here any second now," She found it irritable and hard not to notice all the red present around the campus. Hearts ad cupids reign supreme amongst the school and it only meant one thing – Valentine's day was fast approaching, "This campus seriously knows how to decorate for Valentine's Day. Speaking of it, what does the romantic and charming Cody have planned for the special day?"

"Well, AJ and I have been messing around as of lately so I asked her if she wanted to go out on Friday for Valentine's and of course, she said yes," Cody winked, "I'll probably take her out to eat at the beach club and do something else later."

"I could only guess that something else later must involve your bedroom?"

"You know me a little too well," Admitted Cody, releasing a breath of air, "And what do you have planned? Who's the lucky guy that will be joining you for Valentine's day?"

Eve didn't have anything plan. This Valentine's Day was going to be much different than ones from the past. It was going to involve Eve but no significant other to spend it with, "My Valentine's day is looking like a tear-jerker of a movie and a container of ice cream but I'm perfectly fine with this all. I think I should be alone for a little while."

"You shouldn't be alone, you know that. How about I tell AJ that I got really sick and I can't make it so this way I can ditch her and you and I can spend the day together and be miserable with one another?"

The idea sounded great to Eve but she wasn't going to let him go and do this – She wanted him to have fun and most importantly have a good time, "I'm not going to let go and do that to AJ or you. If you have plans, that's fine. I want you to have fun and you should have fun. We can spend Saturday eating our lives away."

"Well, okay –"

"Hey Eve - over here," The alert came straight from an incoming Alex Riley, docked out in his jeans, sneakers and fraternity t-shirt that toned out his large muscles. Cody looked on, in a bit of shock – certainly, this wasn't what he had expected at all. Once he came over, Alex's smile glowed and Eve simply lite up, "I thought I was never going to find you guys at all. I see the two of you made your way around campus."

"We sure did," Eve was being rude and had yet to introduce the two of them, "Oh Alex, this is my friend Cody and Cody this is Alex."

The two shook hands, firmly and tightly and Cody continued to look on with some curiosity. Alex spoke up first, having a select of words for the possible CU student, "Eve told me you're a football player and I think the team is going to be recruiting next year."

He managed to smile, "Yeah, I'm hoping to get an athletic scholarship. I'd really want to play football in college, if I can make that happen."

"Well, I'm going to show you the football field so maybe you can meet some of the coaches and get a little edge on getting that scholarship?"

Alex was definitely beginning to talk in Cody's language much more. The aspiring football player was beginning to believe more and more he stood a chance of getting on the team and Alex was trying to help but something about Alex flicked a light bulb up in his head and it was concerning Eve. Cody was sure to keep his eye on the two, during this trip because something was there and Cody was onto it.

* * *

It was a quiet day in the Cena residence. Ella was down for a nap, Nathan was at a friend's house and John was still off from work. It was odd – Torrie could hear the birds outside, chirping away ever so sweetly. Her ears hadn't been graced with that sound in ages. The tea kettle starting whistling and with her free hand, she pulled it aside and poured it directly into the free cup – with teabag and sugar already in place. Instantly, Torrie was greeted by the tastefully deliciously smell and was eager to get it in her hands.

Just as she placed the cup to her lips, the door came slamming wide open. It jolted Torrie, causing the hot liquid to swish against her lips. A groan was released, even as the two individuals entered – Kelly and John – with smiles etched across their faces. Kelly instantly made herself at home while John raided the fridge.

"Just as when I was going to get some peace and quiet, the two of you waltz in here," The unpleased Torrie said, continuing to sip on her tea, "Kelly, shouldn't you be hanging out with your friends? And John, shouldn't you be working?"

"Eve's at CU. Maryse is sick. Nikki and Tiffany are both busy, so I kindly thought why don't I spend the rest of my day with my big sister?" She couldn't have kiss more ass than she did right now.

"And I'm done for the day and I thought you and I could spend some time with one another but clearly, you rather be in peace," added John, "What's cooking for dinner?"

"Takeout – I really don't want to cook today. I'm exhausted. Doing all of these college applications is frustrating and getting home to a screaming and crying Ella wasn't fun," Torrie pulled up the seat, focusing her attention up to Kelly, "If you want to spend girl time with me, unleash the gossip. What's happening with all the teenagers these days?"

Kelly pressed her lips together and adjusted her position on the kitchen chair, "Ted and Maryse are all in love and all. Nikki's twin sister is back in town and all. Evan and I are –"

"Oh Evan –"

"All this time and all, I wanted to be with him and I could have but I messed everything up. Now, I'm alone – around the most romantic day of the year and I have no one to spend it with. Life is a totally downer sometimes."

With the recent holiday coming up, it clearly didn't spell anything well for Kelly Blank. Alone on Valentine's day isn't a good thing. Its sole purpose was to be with someone you love and care about but that wasn't much of the case for Kelly. She could have been with Evan but all of that terribly went wrong.

"Oh honey things will turn around – just to give you a little boost. It's actually a story about John and I."

John's head quickly shot up from the fridge with a piece of turkey resting on his mouth. His name was mentioned and curiosity arose thinking about Torrie's story, "I like stories," John brought himself closer to Torrie and Kelly, "I thought you only read stories to the kids."

"Well this is not one for the kids – it's about us," the beautiful blonde soon began, "Well, after John and I began dating, I went back to Boise with our Dad. I ran into one of my exes – Billy Kidman – we talked and he went on how he wanted to come to LA for school so we could be together. I thought about it but I said no – I was in love with someone else and I couldn't be with him. What I'm trying to say is that love has its ways and it will come to you and luckily John came to me and maybe Evan or someone else will come to you."

John was a little taken back by the story and said, "You never told me this – why didn't you tell me this?"

She simply shrugged, "I don't know – I didn't think it wasn't much of a big deal and all," she continued, "But don't give up – my story may not be exactly like yours but it's supposed to be like a sense of guidance. So what if you're going to be alone on Valentine's day? I was alone for the first fifteen years of my life and I made it."

In the time that Torrie was talking, John left the kitchen and headed for his bedroom. Kelly looked over, watching John disappear, "It's a cute story – and it's kind of got me thinking. I'm going to give Evan another try just I'm not going to ask him about being together but at least being friends. If we're meant to be something more, it will happen but right now, it's not happening."

"Is John gone?" Torrie noticed he had disappeared and knew this would be a really good chance to tell Kelly a little secret she's been harboring, "Did he go upstairs?"

"Yeah, he went upstairs."

Quiet the large smile appeared across her lips and she pulled Kelly a little closer, whispering into her ear, "I'm pregnant."

It took a lot of energy to hold in her happiness but she managed to keep it at a sustainable level, "What? Oh my god – you're going to have a baby? That means I'm going to be an aunt again? This is – pretty amazing!"

"I'm about two months along and I'm due in September and you can't tell anything to John because it's a secret. I plan on telling him on Valentine's day over dinner so you have got to keep your lips shut tight."

Having another child was something Torrie had been wanting since John made his triumph return and finally, she was getting her wish. Torrie had known for about a week or so and anticipated to tell John on a special day so she figured Valentine's day would be a good time to share the big news. Another Cena was coming into this family and she was more than thrilled to welcome it.

* * *

_Get here now! I'm not feeling well and I need some company. Please come xx_

Once again, he had received yet another frantic text from his girlfriend. Maryse had been put onto bed rest following a sudden scare with her health. Playing the role of a caring boyfriend, Ted felt it was best to visit the blonde in distress. Text messages filled his phone from when he was driving over to her home up until the steps he was climbing into her bedroom. Temptation arose to just shut his phone off but he couldn't do that. As much as she annoyed him with constant messages, he still cared about her.

Coming forth to her door, he set a gentle knock onto the wood, "I'm here," he answered upon his entrance. The contents on the bed were much appealing. Maryse had always been known to fix herself up well and this wasn't a way she liked to present herself. The messy makeup under her eyes, her luscious hair in chaos and the overly-medicated look in her eyes – it wasn't the Maryse we all came to love and care about.

He inched closer and closer to the body resting upon her bed. With the sheet covering her entire body, Maryse looked more dead than she did alive. Ted tugged on the white sheet, pulling it off Maryse's body and he greeted her with a smile, "Hey – you don't look to happy?"

Maryse released her phone and placed it onto her nightstand, looking right at her boyfriend, "I don't want you to see me like this. I look like a complete and utter mess."

"You just said to come over because you need company."

"I take that back."

A smirk came to his lips. He dragged his legs up to the blonde's bed and took came bedside to her, trying to push down her cover. The look Maryse wasn't expressing wasn't too good. Clearly, this illness was taking its toll on her, "You look great. Did you go to the doctor and tell him what was going on?"

"He came by and I told him I was throwing up and getting nauseas. He checked out my old records and he said this was because I am anemic. That explains this all and hopefully this will all pass as quickly as possible."

"Yeah, I've got Valentine's day planned for us too."

_Valentines' day? Oh my – _Maryse, who normally never forgets things like these, just forgot the most romantic day of the year would soon bestow upon them and what did she have plan? Nothing. Did she buy anything for Ted? Nope. Did she manage to go to the lingerie store and pick up something sexy to wear? No.

"Oh no, really – I completely forgot. I seriously screwed up this time, didn't I?"

"You didn't screw up anything. Listen, you aren't feeling well and you don't have to go out of your way to make Valentines' day special and all. It's already special because I'm spending it with you and that's all that matters. I've got a nice dinner for us planned and we'll just go grab some food and keep each other company – as long as you're feeling up to it and all."

She smiled, "That sounds really good. I hope whatever I eat I don't end up throwing up or something. Can you give me a clue about where we are going on Friday? That new place on Sunset with the shots that are on fire and everything?"

That's when Maryse gets all jumpy and exciting – when you mention alcohol. Typically of her.

Ted smiled at the blonde, eventually joining her beside, "It's a surprise so I can't tell you."

* * *

"– So I got to go. That paper isn't going to write itself, you know and with me here – I'm not really getting much done here."

For the first time – in what seemed to be a very long time – Dolph had selected to put his education first, then spending time with his girlfriend. Dolph planted a kiss onto Nikki's lip in that same moment. The twin smiled back, "Call me tonight – actually don't. Not until that paper is finished."

"Yes your highness."

With that, Dolph ran off and it was only Nikki and Tiffany who remained at the table at the Beach Club. Tiffany had a strawberry mango smoothie resting before her and gazed at the moment of watching Nikki watch Dolph leave. Tiffany couldn't see a more picture perfect definition of love.

"You're really into, aren't you?"

"Head over heels, Tiffany. I can't even describe how I feel about him – it's just so amazing the way he makes me feel. If you had seen our history, you'd never think the two of us would be dating right now. The relationship we shared was nothing compared to what we have now and I find it kind of funny. I didn't like him, he was in love with me and it was eventually turning around but we both found the way to one another. Now, I can't complain about anything."

"I bet the two of you have big plans for Valentines' day," The mention of the 'V' word was brought up. Nikki was greatly looking forward to spending an evening with Dolph. Especially on what was the most romantic day of the year. Details have yet to be disclosed, "Are you planning or is Dolph?"

"Dolph – he's got to choose what we are going to do and everything. We had to fight but I let him do it because he's been looking forward to it for a while now. I don't have any details or anything but it seems like it's going to be some huge. I seriously can't wait."

Whatever Dolph had planned, it was certainly going to be really good.

"And what will you be doing this Valentines' day Tiff? I'm sure there's some guy that's going to ask you."

Tiffany pursed her lips together, with thoughts of Jack fluttering over her mind. She'd never been asked before, so this Valentines' day was going to be extra special. The captain of the football team was full of surprises and Tiffany could only guess what he has in store for her this Friday.

"Well, I haven't told anyone yet but I figured you could be the first to know - seeing as we are sharing our plans for the day," The smirk peeled across her face, while Nikki intently watched, "Jack asked me to be his Valentine."

The expression Nikki has was merely priceless. She didn't speak for a moment before letting out a high pitch scream – of joy, not of fear. The table was nearly shaking and grabbed the attention of the people around her.

"What? Jack – as in Jack Swagger?"

"Or – The Swagg – as he likes to be called sometimes."

Tiffany sat there with a smirk and Nikki waited for more details, "Are you just going to sit there and smile or are you going to tell me more? How did he ask you? Where are you guys going? There's something you got to know about me – I like details – just ask Maryse and Kelly. They'll tell you."

"Well…" The thought of it made butterflies fly into her stomach and an uncontrollably grin emerged , "Today, he asked me by the Valentine-grams. Nikki, I never had a Valentine before. This is my first," As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had to, "This is my first date and I don't know what exactly what to do, say or wear."

"This is your first date ever? Like, you never even been on one before," The brunette was somewhat stunned at the revelation, seeing as a girl as beautiful as Tiffany had never been on a date. This girl needed some help and Nikki was willing to help.

"Yes and I'm so nervous."

Nikki stood up, tossed down some money for the check and starred right at Tiffany who was surprised to see Nikki standing up on her feet, "I'm going to help you. First, we're going to Rodeo to get you a beautiful dress and shoes. Along the way, I'm going to give you tips and everything about going on a date. You don't know how excited I am for you. I'm going to make your first date amazing."

Rising to her feet, she felt the confidence brewing inside. Nikki was determined and Tiffany was willing to do just about anything to make Valentine's day a special day, no matter what it costs.

Pulling her by the hand, Nikki led Tiffany out of the beach club and directly toward her car for a day of shopping. The two were being watched – for most of the time – by a mysterious onlooker. The figure slowly approached the exit, watching the two students laughing away and soon driving off.

She didn't have details. She didn't have a single clue but she had a plan.

"Oh Nikki, this isn't going to be the picture perfect Valentines' day you hoped for."

* * *

**A/N:** Just when i thought my edge for this story was returning - POOF - it disappeared.  
Horrible chapter - i already know. It was suppose to be longer but i just needed to update.  
It's always filler-like chapters i have so much trouble with and i'm hopefully that i can get through this Writer's Block.  
We're going to see a little more John/Torrie in the next few chapters and i plan on wrapping that up.  
This chapter was suppose to be a bit bigger with some AJ/Christy, who's story i'm not to interested in :( This is how bad it is, i swear.  
Anyway, i'm really rambling away! I've got to stop.  
I really hope you enjoyed this and if anyone has tips for writer's block, let me know - thank you.  
Thanks for reading and i'm keeping my fingers crossed that next chapter is MUCH better :)

_Next chapter - Jack & Tiffany share a special Valentine's day together and Torrie reveals some shocking news to John_


	42. Be Mine

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty Two _- Be Mine

This class was beyond boring at this point.

Mrs. Guerrero found herself explaining to the class what happened during the great depression and of all twenty eight students, twenty eight of the students had on the same expression and questioned themselves – why were they sitting there? Neither of them had the slightest idea.

Tiffany – one of the only students – grew an interest toward the class. That could explain why she has a full ride to Harvard. Kelly, who was seated beside her, found more entertainment on her phone then what Mrs. Guerrero was providing in her lesson.

She wasn't going to lie. The lesson was somewhat interesting but she was smitten by the fact that Valentine's day was upon her. Tonight was going to be a special night. Her first Valentine's day where she was going to spend it with someone else other than a sad movie and a parade of junk food. Though no details have been disclosed yet, it kept Tiffany worried. Tonight was the date, she had her dress ready and her shoes ready but no details concerning when he'd pick her up or anything. It was the final period before the school would be dismissed and she had yet to see him. She had every right to be a little worried.

A knock at the classroom's door and in came Natalya Neidhart with fellow student and boyfriend Tyson Kidd to deliver the roses for Valentine grams. Wade's hands were rather full of flowers.

"Mrs. Guerrero, do you mind if we give out the Valentine grams to the students?"

"Yes, you may but make it snappy! I have a lot more information I have to cover and I will not allow this how rose delivery take over my rather interesting lesson today," Cleary, Mrs. Guerrero was blind and could visually see the expressions on her students' faces.

"It will only take a moment. I just have three orders," Nattie simply smiled before handing out the first rose, "We've got this one for Rosa Mendes."

The fierce Latina came to her feet, proudly came to the front to accept her rose. She knew exactly where this came from – a special someone called Alberto Del Rio. The Latina rushed back into her place as Nattie gave out the next rose, "The next one is for Tamina." Tamina, seated directly was able to accept the rose immediately and took a swift smell of the rose.

The next delivery wasn't a single rose. It wasn't two roses nor was it three. Try a dozen roses. Nattie herself even looked surprised, staring at the freshly cut flowers before announcing who they were for, "And the lucky lady with this bouquet is Tiffany."

Her heart had literally skipped a beat. The crowd of students turned over, starring at the blonde seated in the back. Her mind had a tough time coming to reality that those flowers were for her – so did the rest of the class, especially Rosa Mendes who gave Tiffany the dirtiest look possible. The Latina was rather upset with how she ended up a dozen flowers but Alberto only sent her one measly flower. This wasn't floating very well with her.

As for Tiffany, she guided her way through the row to accept the flowers. The moment she took them into her hands, they greeted her senses rather pleasantly. Tiffany had resembled the winner of a pageant as she took them back to her seat. Kelly graciously was there to greet the blonde with a smile and curiosity raced through her mind, desperate for answers to questions.

Laying them onto the desk, Tiffany pulled out the note that accompanied the roses. _You said you never got one before so how about twelve to make up for the years you never got one? Be ready at six tonight – Jack. _

Could there have been a sweeter thing than this? Her heart was slowly melting inside of her and Kelly, who remained quiet for the moment was in dire need to have her questions answered. While the teacher returned to her lesson, Kelly whispered, "Are you just going to sit there starring at the wall or are you going to tell me who sent you those flowers?"

"Jack – he sent them," Even in her voice, anyone could see Tiffany had yet to get over this shock, "I can't believe this. Jack sent these flowers. I never got a flower before – I never in my entire life got a flower."

"Well, I'm certainly happy for you girl. You deserve them and they look absolutely beautiful," Her eyes remained glued onto the deep red color gracing the roses, "God, there so beautiful."

They were certainly beautiful from one amazing guy.

* * *

The Beach club was rather busy on the romantic holiday. Even with its influx of customers, there were still a few people who were alone – one being Eve Torres.

The feeling truly sucked. All of her friends had plans for the evening while she was left with no one to share it with. There was someone joining her – just a magazine and its authors. Eve smashed the magazine down onto the coffee table and folded her arms. She scowled down and remained tight lipped. This really sucked. Before, she thought this was going to be perfectly fine. So what she was going to be alone? It wasn't much of a big deal. Now she regrets ever saying that.

Coming around the corner, dressed in something modest and sheik, Cody found the brunette in a sense of trouble. Slowly making his way toward the brunette, he greeted her in a pleasant tone hoping to spark some happiness, "Eve – you don't have to be upset anymore. I'm here and now you can be happy. I've returned to your life and you can now breathe."

She rolled her eyes but knew this was Cody just being himself, "Cody, being by yourself on valentines' day isn't supposed to be this hard. I thought I was going to actually be fine but I'm miserable."

"I soon may be joining you. AJ hasn't written back in a while, since saying she may not be able to make it tonight," he shared that he too may be spending the evening by himself. Eve wasn't alone, "You're not alone. I have a feeling that I won't be with someone tonight either."

"Then we should spend the night together! Come on – I bet it would be fun. We could go to the movies and maybe some dinner. We always wanted to try that new Indian restaurant in Santa Monica," The excitement was spurring through Eve and he enjoyed how excited she was getting, "If AJ cancels, your mine."

"Seems like a fair enough deal to me."

The two smiled – agreeing to their plan but that would soon be stopped. Alex Riley – the college boy Eve had met a few weeks ago – began to dissent into the room. The attention Eve was giving Cody was being traded and given to Alex instead. The CU student came in – CU sweater on and shorts – and quickly rushed up to Eve with a embrace.

"Hey Alex," the Latina answered. Her smile glowed, "You're working today? I didn't see you at the bar earlier."

"I just got fired. Apparently, I'm not needed any longer," He felt it was rude to just ignore Cody, who was standing right beside the woman, "Hey Cody – the coaches at CU told me they really liked you and enjoy the chance of having you on their team."

"Thanks again for all that. I really liked CU and I think I might be going their next year."

Back at Eve, Alex asked, "what are you guys going here?"

Eve jumped up to bat to answer that question, "Well, Cody is waiting for his date to respond and I was just sitting here – bored and miserable out of my mind. I'm alone this valentines' day."

The glowing smile of his created that bumping noise against Eve's chest, just as the student of CU was about to answer, "So am I – my girlfriend broke up with me weeks ago and I've been planning on spending this year's Valentines' by myself," He wasn't too sure if it was appropriate to ask her, right there but he was taking a risk, "Since you don't have any plans, would you may be like to go out with me?"

Now she was at a bit of a crossroad, seeing as she just told Cody her plans with him but turned to him anyway, "Has AJ wrote back at all? You see – I promised Cody that if he wasn't going out with his date, we'd spend the night together so I don't know yet."

Alex rubbed his two hands together and managed to pull out a strong smile, "Yeah, I understand."

Suddenly Cody's phone made the vibration with a message from AJ on the screen. Eve grew very much excited, "Oh, is that AJ?" He nodded, "Well what did she say? This way I'll either stay with you or I'll go with Alex."

This wasn't the way this was supposed to happen. Alex on her left, Cody on her right and Eve stuck in the middle of this. It took a lot of courage to give this answer. He read the message once again, putting his lips together. With a little push, he said, "It's on for tonight so you guys can go out."

Eve was exceptional happy with what had just happened. Her lips coiled into a long smile and a similar scene was taking place with Mr. Riley. Eve pulled up her bag and quickly told Alex, "There's this really good Indian place in Santa Monica we should try. Are you up for the challenge?"

"I'd like some Indian food."

Before they were leaving, Eve turned back and seemed very thankful toward Cody, "I'll see you on Monday."

Alex gestured a departing wave and it wasn't long until the two of them had ran out of the beach club and Cody was left alone. Eve never looked so happy and Cody couldn't stop her from leaving. As he pulled up his message, he read it once more.

_Can't make it Cody. I'm really sorry. - AJ_

Was he that insane to let her go like that? Apparently so. Cody had his reasons though. Were they valid? Maybe not but to him he though they were good enough. He really wanted to see her happy and when she saw Alex, she lite up like a Christmas tree. It's funny how the tables had took a turn and it's now Cody who's the one that's spending the day alone.

* * *

The West Beverly Channel certainly kept Evan Bourne very busy. Almost every day there were reports that needed to broadcast and several stories for the Paw Print too. His hands were full but this would just be the right things he needed if he wanted to get into the journalism program at California University.

CU, as it's called, was Evan's dream school as of recently and it's common for students of West Beverly to attend CU after they have finished at West Beverly. There was something about CU that he liked and hoped it would make his dreams come true.

After his usual meeting was over, he had received a knock at the door and when he found who was standing beside the door, he somewhat pouted before returning to his usual business, "What are you doing here?"

Kelly Blank was at the door, looking at her ex-boyfriend and receiving that kind of welcome wasn't exactly what she had expected to hear from him. Stepping into the classroom further, she placed her things down onto one of the desks, "do you mind if we talk for a second, that's if you're not busy or anything?"

The back was still to her face and answered, "I'm listening."

If this was the way he was going to act, there wasn't much she could do than just deal with this, "okay, if this is how I have to do this then fine," This awkward situation and silent treatment for one another wasn't working well for Kelly and she had to put a stop to this and bury the hatchet.

"I'm going to ask you simply: Can we be friends again? I want the past to be the past. All I want is for us to be friends again and move past this all. Yes, I did some things I should have never done but I can't talk back what I did. I can ask you to forgive me but that's not it. Remember, sophomore year, I had my blowout with Maryse and I was left friend-less. You turned up and you were that one person who got me through one of the most difficult times of my life. We had so many good times and all I'm asking is to leave this behind and let's focus on the future. Let's be friends and enjoy our last few months as seniors together – what do you say Evan?"

It was certainly difficult to hear everything Kelly had to say but she carried such a valid point. What was the point anymore? He wanted the same thing Kelly wanted. A friend. He'd let go of the whole thing with Cody ordeal and moved on with him – why couldn't that be down with Kelly as well?

"I just want us to go back to the people we once were."

When Kelly spoke again, Evan finally came to face her in the eyes and stepped up to the blonde, "I think I'd really like that. I somewhat missed you too."

It was all she wanted to hear come through his lips and in such happiness, Kelly gave him a large embrace. Evan accepted, wrapping his arms around her as well. As soon as it broke apart, she smiled, "What are you working on here? Can I give you a hand, since after all its Valentines' day and I have absolutely nothing to do afterwards? I could use something to get my mind off of my life."

"Of course there is."

Finally, it took time for all of this to happen but Kelly and Evan were finally back on the same page they once were and it felt great once again. And now their spending there Valentines' day with one another – as friends.

* * *

Hyperventilating. Sweating. Shaking. Just one of the many feelings Tiffany was currently enduring. The clock struck 6:01 and Tiffany was growing nervous after each time the second hand was passing by. Her eyes focused into the mirror, making some minor adjustments to the makeup she applied earlier and made sure her mini-poof was in the right position. Everything had to look right tonight.

Jack was keeping her on the tips of her toes. The sound of any movement caused the blonde to jump and question whether Jack may have been at the door when in reality it was one of her parents making some noise. Forgetting about adjusting her perfect makeup, Tiffany darted down to the living room window was check to see if a car had pulled in. Unfortunately, nothing was there. A sigh pulled through her lips and in frustration, Tiffany took a seat on the couch.

6:02. This wasn't getting much better. Her heels tapped down on the wooden floor and her nerves slowly were getting the best of her. She'd play with her hands, fidgeting with the ring that was placed on her finger and checking up by the window every here and there.

To say Tiffany was nervous was an understatement – super extremely nervous were the perfect adjectives to associate with her feelings right now. With Jack's history, this could have been just another practical joke but he changed. Tiffany witness the transformation Jack had made and he certainly isn't the guy she first met. Jack was a new man – a better man in fact. Clearly, his past had taught him a lesson and he was done with his silly antics. There's only one silly antic he was doing right now – keeping her waiting.

There was a knock at the door and Tiffany's answers were met. Heading to the door, in her navy blue Chantilly dress with matching pumps and when she opened the door, expecting a prince, she got a much more Spanish-looking Jack Swagger.

"Miss Terrell?" His thick accent made it somewhat difficult to exactly understand what he said but she nodded anyway, "I'm Senor Jack Swagger's driver. He couldn't pick you up but requested that I pick you and drive you to the destination."

It bugged her that he wasn't here with her but he clearly had something up his sleeve. Tiffany nodded to the driver and grabbed her purse. As the door slammed shut, she could only think about how amazing the evening will be. Kindly, the driver escorted her into the car and soon began the journey to wherever this man was taking her.

As much as she wished Jack was here, it kind of added all the element of surprise. Her mind couldn't even digest what he had planned for the evening but by the look of the situation, he wanted to keep it as secretive as possible.

Her eyes were kept glued to the window as the driver was taking her down Venice Blvd., into the direction of Santa Monica and Marina Del Rey. This excitement was building as the car ride persisted. The car ride went on for about another ten minutes when she began to notice the car slowly down. She could hear the water splashing against the beach and some seagulls in the distant. She was definitely by the water. The car then suddenly stopped and when she gazed out the window, Tiffany found herself at some boat yard.

The driver pulled open the door and allowed Tiffany to exit, "Miss Terrell – Mr. Swagger shall be with you momentarily."

"Thank you," said the blonde and moments after the driver returned to the vehicle and sped off leaving Tiffany all alone. Before she was excited and now she was scared. All by herself with nothing but a pair of seagulls beside her, fighting over some food she was becoming more frightened by each passing moment. Her nails were digging into her purse and that's when she started to panic, fearing this was yet another joke and he had returned to his usually ways.

She jumped out of her trance when she suddenly heard a large obnoxious fill the air – enough to scare the seagulls away – and her as well. There was a large white boat coming into her direction. The yacht was slowly approaching the docks and seemed to be docking right beside her. As the boat docked, her eyes could visualize a spec standing right at the top of the boat, usually where the captain is positioned.

_No way. This couldn't be it. There is no way possible that it's Jack up there. _The boarding walkway was thrown onto the dock and the individual who was at the top of the ship disappeared but it wasn't long until he had appeared through the yacht's doors and it was a sigh of relief to find Jack was there.

"Let's go – what are you waiting for? Dinner's going to get cold if you don't get a move on," He stood their pushing Tiffany to get onto the boat but she wasn't budging, who was still in shock with everything, "Have you not seen a boat before?"

"Wait, we're eating dinner on this boat?"

"If you don't want to we can settle for the food at Ben's burgers – he has a place not too far from here if your still –"

"No! No, no, no. I'm just a little taken back that I'm about to have dinner on a yacht. For a second, I thought you were going to ditch me or something," She couldn't lie and say she didn't have doubts but now she was doubt-free and looking forward to an evening with Jack. Getting onto the yacht, she stopped beside Jack, "Happy Valentines' day, Valentine."

His lips coiled into a smile. The boarding walkway was removed and soon the boat began its dissent into the Pacific Ocean. Jack kindly returned the gesture, while the two walked toward the front of the boat, "And a Happy Valentines' day to you too. One question – did you really think I was going to just leave you like that?"

"I had my doubts but I can't even think about that right now. I've got this beautiful view waiting for me," Once ending her sentence, Tiffany looked out into the peaceful sea resting before her. Tonight was certainly going to be a special night.

* * *

Staring into her mirror, Nikki thought she was going to surprise Dolph with how beautiful she was looking tonight. Her brown locks with stuffed up into a marvelous bun and dressed in a yellow ponte dress and her favorite pair of Loubotin pumps and that's all she needed.

This was their first Valentines' day together and it marked a special time for the couple. The first for every couple is always very special. Curiosity arose while speculating what Dolph would be planning for the evening. She knew he was romantic and had high hopes that whatever Dolph would pull out, would be utterly amazing.

The doorbell rang, sending jitters down Nikki's spine. The Bella twin rushed downstairs, even though there was a fear of falling but that didn't stop her. Once at the door, she checked herself and opened the door with a smile but right after the contents of the door were revealed, her expression immediately changed.

It was Dolph, accompanied by sister Brie but Dolph looked to be in pain, "Dolph, what's the matter honey? Why are you holding your stomach like that?"

"Well, I –" He couldn't hold it in much longer and immediately ran to the bathroom, hand covering his mouth and Nikki could only assume what was going on – the gagging only supported her conclusion.

"He said he was at school and Layla had given him these hot wings since she couldn't finish them so he took them and ate them. I was walking before and I saw him walking up to the house, notcing the condition he was in so I decided to give him a hand."

"What was he doing eating hot wings?" She sighed, "He's not very good with hot wings but yet he eats them. Oh my – we can't go out tonight and I was looking forward to this night so much. Thanks for making sure he came here safetly."

"What are sisters for? I'll see you later."

Quickly, Brie made her way for the exit and pulled out her phone to write a message. _Lay, thanks for doing that little favor for me. I think I'm going to like hanging out with you guys now. – Brie._

After Brie's departure, Nikki made her way into the bathroom that Dolph had 'blessed' with his presence. His head rested on the toilet and Nikki bent down to look at her ailing boyfriend, "You're going to be okay?"

"I think so but I don't think we could go to dinner tonight," much to his displeasure, he had to give her the answer she didn't want to hear. "I totally ruined this night for us. It was supposed to be special for the both of us and I ruined it. I'm sorry."

"There's always going to be so many more Valentines' days and all. So what if we missed one – now big deal?" Though it did bother her that she wasn't going out anywhere special, she was just happy to be spending it with him, "I'll go get you a set of my dad's pajamas and you can get comfy in my bed. We'll just watch a nice movie together – how does that sound?"

"I think I'm going to like that…"

* * *

This wasn't Ted DiBiase's ideal Valentines' day. He always imagined it something like you'd see in a movie – not bedside of your girlfriend's bed, watching her be sick and all.

It could have come at more of a worse time than today. Resting comfortably in robe, with Ted lying beside her, her eyes looked at the television screen which was occupied with some cheesy horror movie that she was really interested in but Ted was. An idea sparked up in her mind to maybe brighten things up a little – that's if her body was really up for it.

Sneaking out from Ted's grip, Maryse blocked the view out of his sight. For the moment, he was about to ask but was quickly stopped when she started talking, "Oh Ted – I'm going to make this evening much more romantic," the nasally noise she was creating wasn't very sexy as he would have thought it would be, "I'm going to make our Valentines' day much more interesting."

"Uh, Maryse – get back in bed or you're going to get sick."

"I'm not sick!" The word 'sick' and 'Maryse' should never go together, according to her, "All i have is some stuffy little noise and some vomiting here and there. I am not sick. This is Valentines' day and I'm going to do my best and try to be sexy for you."

"Well, you're losing me with your nasally voice."

"How about a little striptease?" The continuous act to be sexy was turning into an epic fail, especially with her voice. Maryse slowly started to play with the robe's belt, eventually revealing her body I nothing but a black lace bra and matching bottoms. He couldn't lie. He was getting a little aroused by the sight of Maryse, especially after she stopped speaking. His excitement grew when he elevated his body against the bed's board as the French Canadian continued her striptease.

"You wanna see more, Mr. DiBiase?" He quickly nodded, with a delighted smile. Her next plan was to remove the robe but that changed the moment she was beginning to feel very queasy, "Uh..." She didn't know what to say but she did know what she had to do. Luckily, she had a bathroom in the room and like a bullet, she raced for the bathroom to release whatever had to come out.

Ted pouted at the end of his striptease and pulled himself up, walking into the bathroom to find Maryse's head in the toilet. It would go a little something like this. Groan. Vomit. Groan. Vomit. Curse. Vomit. Groan. This was certainly his picture perfect Valentines' day.

"You okay there?"

"Does it look like –" And there she was stopped once again and Ted rushed down to her side and pushed her hair back. The smell was far from pleasing. Maryse pulled away from the toilet and Ted captured her right into his arms, "I guess that striptease was a bad idea, afterall?"

"Wasn't the smartest but it was still pretty sexy."

"All I wanted was for us to have a romantic night and I thought the little striptease would be fun and we could forget I am sick and enjoy ourselves. It turns out I can't get everything I want. I'm sorry for ruining this Valentines' day. This was supposed to be our first one and I completely ruined it."

Miss Ouellet was the top of person that had to impress and if I didn't happen, it would make her feel miserable. Luckily Ted didn't care about that and took into consideration the much more important things that were present, "You don't have to apologize for anything. Seriously, this Valentines' day couldn't have gone anymore perfect because all I care about is spending time with you – even if it meant hearing you vomit and groan. As long as I'm with you, everything's okay."

Her heart melted like butter on a stove, "Your sweet. Can we just cuddle? It's the closest thing you'll get to sex tonight."

"Wait, the striptease is over?"

A harsh slap against his shoulder was received and with some help from Ted, Maryse got onto her and the two entered her bed once again. This time, Ted kept his arm wrapped around her neck while she rested her head onto his chest.

* * *

For this Valentines' day, she wanted to keep it more simple and private. As much as she enjoyed eating out, that's not what she wanted to do today so she took it upon herself to make the dinner for John and herself right here at home. Kelly, who brought Evan over, took the kids away for the evening to let the two of them be together.

The meal was almost complete and throughout the meals' entirety, no contact was made between the two. John was somewhat giving Torrie that silent treatment, which she wasn't really appreciating at the moment especially after all she's been through today to makes this wonderful meal. She wanted answers and she was going to get them.

"Did you not like the meal I made? The penne is one of your favorite dishes and you barely ate. Is there something wrong John?" It's not like she's doing anything wrong by asking the simple question but she didn't appreciate his attitude much now.

"I'm just not that hungry," was his only response as he played with his fork on the table.

Enough for was enough. This evening is being ruined with this stupidity, "Okay John, enough of this bullshit your pulling," Torrie smashed the napkin she had in her lap, onto the table in frustration, "I made an entire meal for you, made this all romantic and your sitting across from me acting like this? I don't understand all of this so if you could feel me in, that would be great."

"I don't know – maybe you should ask Billy Kidman because it was obviously between me or him."

_What the hell does Billy have to do with this? _She was scowling at this point, "What about Billy Kidman? What the hell does he have to do with any of this?"

"Hmm, let's think back fifteen years ago when you were in Boise, debating over choosing him over me. Does that ring a bell?" Mrs. Cena looked a little stumble and was surprised to see this was what seemed to be bugging John for most of this meal, "I can't believe you never told me this story at all. Here I am, thinking we were made for each other but clearly you were having your doubts about us. I can't believe this – really."

"That was fifteen years ago. Yeah, I never told you about it because it wasn't a big deal at all."

That's how Torrie's mind was set – that this was just something that didn't really matter at all and he shouldn't be hold accountable for this. The past is the past – you've just got to let it be like that. But what worries her is that this really bothered him a lot. This incident from years ago is now bothering John.

"Why is something from fifteen years ago bothering you?"

"Because you never told me. You never told me anything about this. We're supposed to be in this strong relationship and not keep things for one another. I really can't believe you were almost going to pick him over me."

At this point, she was growing more and more upset with John and couldn't even bare the site of him any longer so she rose from the chair and looked right at him, "What does it matter what happened fifteen years ago? John, the past is never going to change but I'll tell you something – didn't I choose you? Who did I go to my prom with? You. Who did I go to college with? You. Who did I marry and have two beautiful children with? You. What does the past matter anymore now that I'm with you?," She's had enough, "this is ridiculous. I'm done."

Torrie marched away from the table as John remained silent over what had just occurred. Maybe she was right? He was taking all of this overboard and shouldn't exactly be constantly thinking about this. She was clearly upset by all of this and sped off into the kitchen before she stopped and turned right back at him.

"Oh, and by the way – I'm pregnant John. You're going to be a father again."

Once she disappeared, he soaked into the surprising news he had just receive. He was set to be a father, once again.

* * *

This was probably the first time she'd ever seen stars in California. With all the bright lights of the city, no one could see a single star in the sky but now she was nowhere near that and Tiffany could see every single star that the sky had possessed.

Her evening was flawless. Her very first Valentines' day out and she couldn't have imagined a better evening. The ship continued to sail – on route for the boatyard it was originally docked – but it was still far from its destination. Tiffany leaned over the railing of the ship, with the wind slamming into her body and whisking her hair up and enjoyed what was left of this evening. Jack, who had on his black suit and white striped shirt – minus the tie – took her side in watching the night sky and ocean waters.

"This was such a perfect evening Jack," This whole evening was more than perfect. She turned her head into his direction with a smirk, "Thank you for such an amazing Valentine' day. This was my very first one and you really set the bar high for the next ones to come."

He cheered inside his mind and put on a smile, "I think next year I can pull something off much bigger than this one. But you'll have to wait and see for that one, won't you?"

He expected a smile but instead got a confused expression. He must have said something wrong but he didn't know what. Tiffany had a little trouble taking in the sentence that was just said, "What did you just say?"

Jack played a replay in his mind, going back to see the possible mistake he made and realized he may have just revealed a little too much than he had initially let on. _Crap, I have to learn to keep my mouth shut, _"Something about how great this night was," he lied. "Why do you ask?"

"No, you didn't say that," Tiffany pulled away from the railing and soon Jack would follow, "You just said something about making next year's bigger than this year and I have to wait to see what you plan – what do you mean by that?"

He was backed into the corner. Clearly, he had revealed too much and she was slowly catching on to what he exactly meant. He told himself he had to control his feelings but they still had to come out somehow. This wasn't how this night was supposed to go. This wasn't the plan.

He continued to remain silent which caused Tiffany to grow more and more suspicious. The Louisiana native wanted some answers, "Jack –" Nothing. Once again. "Jack –"

It was bubbling inside of him and he figured that it was just time to release himself of this burden. The truth will set you free, right? He had only the slightest hope that was true.

"…I'll tell you, okay? Tiffany," He gathered a little more air before saying something he could never take back. "I like with you."

The expression was certainly what he was looking for. A part of him was relieved to have gotten this offer his chest as it's been holding heavy on it but the other part of him regrets it. She remained unresponsive and Jack grew worried that this night – which started off amazing – is going to end tragically.

Disbelief had fallen upon the blonde, who hadn't yet said a word and looking into Jack's eyes, she could see him getting more worried as the moments passed. This was unbelievable. Tonight was certainly a night of firsts – the first valentine and now the first crush? This wasn't what she had expected – certainly far from it. It was only meant to be a dinner but she'd never expect this turn into something more.

"Jack, you like me?"

He had confessed so much, so why not a little more? He suddenly came up to the plate, much stronger than before and looked deep into Tiffany's eyes. This couldn't be all held in – he had to let her know. He just had too.

"I'm not kidding around. This isn't a practical joke, if that's what you think this is. I wouldn't joke about my feelings. I really like you Tiffany and that's the truth. You're this amazing out-of-this world girl that has shown me something different in life. You actually changed who I originally was. Before, I was this cocky, stuck-up rich kid and you changed me into a civilized human being. There's something about you that really like – it just clings me to you. Any moment I've been with you has been a moment that I loved because I feel something between us Tiffany. It isn't the food we just ate or the wind – I feel something much more bigger than that."

This confession wasn't certainly what she had expected but she still had a little trouble taking in this whole thing.

"I never had a guy do something like this for me. I never even heard of someone actually bearing feelings for me. I can't even believe this. You really like me? You really like geeky little Tiffany?"

"Geeky? I don't see anything geeky – I just see something so beautiful."

She couldn't lie to herself and say she didn't bear feelings for Jack. There was so much to this man that she loved. What she couldn't love more was how he felt about her and it would simply melt her heart in an instant. At first she was taken aback by this all but now it's different. He was crazy about her, just as crazy as she was for him."

"Jack…I don't know what to say. I don't know what to tell you or how to act when it comes to something like this."

Have no fear. Jack knew well and this was something he was waiting to do for a long time. With his hands, he captured Tiffany's soft lips – tasting the lip gloss she had on – and she didn't hesitate to fight his hold onto him. She didn't know what she was doing and just let Jack take over from here. The kiss was so perfect. Her knees were slowly giving out to it and she couldn't help it. She could smell the cologne radiating from his neck, giving the female the urge for more. This moment could go on forever In fact; she never wanted this to end.

But when it came to an end, Jack released his grip and couldn't keep them away from her. He whispered softly, "Do you want this Tiffany? Do you want to be with me Tiffany? Tell me."

"I wouldn't be here, standing by you, kissing you and telling you I'm crazy about you if I didn't want to be with you."

And once more, Jack and Tiffany's lips crashed together and neither of the two could keep their lips off one another. As the boat set its way to return home, these two were in no mood to end this night.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello my lovies :) And i'm back with the next chapter.  
Hope you all enjoyed it and i think i'm getting back my urge to write again - let's hope it stays like this :)  
Anyway, i'd really appreciate a review.  
Take care xx

_Next chapter - Mike makes his return to West Beverly and Eve continues to get closer to Alex_


	43. Crash

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty Three _- Crash

The bitch is back – and she's better than ever.

That bitch – Maryse Ouellet – was once again roaming the hallways of West Beverly. Her head remained firm as she walked by her classmates, some of which turned their heads back in jealous and a few who wished so dearly to have a piece of Maryse; those being the perverts that roamed the school.

This was hard for her to admit but she missed school. She always thought of her school as her own personally kingdom. She was Queen and her fellow classmates were nothing but her ever-so obeying peasants. Little did she know that not everyone looked up to her as a Queen but as the HBIC – Head Bitch in Charge – and none of that was meant to mean something good. It was sincerely far from that.

Those blonde locks bounced gently into the air as she marched down in her new Gucci wedges – a little present for the majesty herself due to overcoming her medical condition – and a pink floral dress to nicely accommodate her in these above average weather Beverly Hills was currently experiencing.

There was one set of eyes particularly laying on Miss Ouellet and these pair didn't seem to happy.

His arms were clutched tightly across his body, giving somewhat a mean stare the blonde. Clearly there were some people who weren't too happy to see Maryse back. Mike Mizanin had finally returned to school following his long absence. Rumors swirled around school that following the earthquake, Mike had made an impromptu trip to rehab for unknown reasons or that he was taking a special class in Argentina or there was another with Mike apparently attending a military academy program in New York. No one knew but Maryse kept receiving bade vibes from him – from his stare, to his stance and general look.

There were a set of visible bags under his eyes – very dark – and as Maryse approached the end of the hallway, he suddenly removed himself off the wall and directly in her path. Growing scared, she wasn't quite aware of what she could expect from Mike. With his disappearance and lack of contact, Mike wasn't the same individual she once knew.

"Hi Mike," Maryse broke the ice standing between them and smiled, "Your back in school? Where have you been off too?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," He smirked in a mysterious like manner, "I've been away. Here and there – not in one specific place. You clearly seem to be doing very well – you haven't changed a bit.**"**

This was sounding all but too odd, "I took a small leave of absence from school because I was sick for a little while, other than that – nothing has really been happening. It's good to see you back."

Maryse was trying her best just to be nice to Mike. He wasn't too thrilled when she had broken up with him. The whole vibe he was giving off wasn't too appealing. A part of her just wanted to end this whole thing and find someone to give her the excuse to leave.

"Ted," The glowing smile she just raced across her lips in the matter of a few seconds. The blonde sped over to Ted, greeting him with a peck on the lips, "I told you I'd make it to school today and you refused to believe it. Even with the horrible food my mother made this morning – the stench was ridiculous – I still managed, especially after a visit to the bathroom to empty my system out. I just hope the cafeteria isn't serving something horrible."

He shared a smile with the blonde, "I'm glad you're back and finally well," Feeling rude, Ted kindly greeted Mike, "What's up Mike? You're back in school?"

"Yes, Ted – I'm back," That smirk was looking rather devious to him and slowly, Mike began to fade away from the scene, "I have a class to get to so I'll just be leaving."

In one big swift movement, Mike quickly left the couple to be on their own. Chills traveled up and down her arms and she wasn't too fond on Mike. Something was wrong with him and she could tell – heck, anyone could probably tell but she wasn't too keen on it all.

It made her wonder if it was only directed toward her. The breakup seemed to be smooth sailing but maybe this was all taking a toll on Mike. Maybe deep down inside he was very hurt and troubled. She still cared for him – she's not that much of a selfish human being not to care. Mike had some sort of issue and her mind was telling her that it had something to do with her.

To keep herself preoccupied, Maryse began speaking to Ted about plans Eve had told her about earlier in a text message, "I hope you're not busy tonight because we are going to a college party. Eve's new boy toy invited all of us to his frat party at CU. Don't make any excuse to get out of it because we're going. I want to see the campus I'll be spending the next four years at."

"It looks like I don't have much of a choice. As long as the other Dolph, Cody and the rest of the guys are going – I'll be there."

"Well, they are and I need a driver tonight. My car's still in the shop and I had to cab it to school today so tonight you'll get to play my chauffer and boyfriend – how does that sound?"

For a moment, he cleared his throat, "What's my pay like?"

Of course Ted always wanted something out of this but what guy wouldn't? Not everyone does things for free and they manage to get away with it. A smirk would slowly arise, while Ted placed his arm around Maryse's shoulder and walked down the hallway, "Remember my failed attempt at that striptease for Valentines' day? Maybe I can finally finish that – that's if you come with me."

She didn't need to say anything else. She got it in the bag.

* * *

_In a Relationship. _Tiffany Terrell never had a chance to say that. She quickly made the change on her profile and it felt like there was a brand new chapter just waiting to start. The words – in a relationship – just dug deep into her heart.

Even the picture on her profile had changed to a photo of her and Jack. The mere thought of this all was making her little heart melt. The feeling was indescribable but it had never appeared before, explaining why she could never understand why she was feeling this way. But one thing about these arising feelings – she never wanted them to go away.

Like any girl, she had to explain to her friends exactly what had happened – that explains why Kelly and Nikki were beside the girl who was deep in love. Kelly could imagine the little hearts just floating out of her tiny little head while Nikki loved to hear about other people's love stories.

"Are you going to sit there and not tell us a damn thing or are you going to spill the beans and tell us how romantic Jack is?" This Bella wanted details and she wanted them as quickly as possible.

"Well, he surprised with me a limo at my door that took me to the boatyard. At first, I thought he was playing some sick practical joke but that changed when his gigantic yacht came rolling by. It was the most amazing moment – thinking a guy would go this far to do something for me. I was so flattered. But anyway, we had dinner on the boat and it was just so romantic and after dinner, we got to talking and he told me everything – how he felt and that he was crazy about me. I told him how I felt and then he kissed me for the first time. I had never been kissed. It was my first kiss. It was the perfect first kiss."

With her hand holding her head up, Kelly Blank's head shook and said, "Gosh, you shared your first kiss with a guy you actually like. A lot better than what I did when my first kiss was with Pauly McArthur when we played a game with spin the bottle. Tiff, I couldn't be happier for you."

"Pauly McArthur was your first kiss?" Seeing as Nikki was there and that she knew Pauly, it came to much of a shock but the twin quickly stopped that matter and put the focus back on Tiffany, "Sorry – Tiffany's moment. Girl, we're so happy for you. I'm so happy you finally found someone who cares for you and I can tell the two of you are just perfect for one another."

"Thanks guy – it means a lot to me that you feel this way. I'm really happy. I really am."

Speaking of the devil, Jack Swagger had just entered the cafeteria and was making his way right for Tiffany. There it went. Her heart started to thump away and as he came closer, the faster it began to beat. Jack quickly joined Tiffany in the seat beside her and a kiss along with it, "Hello ladies – what are you two up to?"

"Kelly and I were just leaving," Nikki spoke in honor of Kelly to excuse the both of them away from the table, allowing the pair to have some time for themselves. But before that, Nikki had one piece of information that needed to be revealed, "And before we go, Eve's friend is throwing some party at CU. You guys are more than welcome to come."

"I'm down – count us in," Jack answered.

"We'll see you guys later," moments after, the blonde and brunette let the table and continued into the hallway, when the two were quickly greeted by the other Bella, "Oh hey Brie," Kelly smiled while greeting Nikki's sister.

"Hey Kelly," If only the duo could see the twin's true intentions but that smile was oh-to deceiving, "Hey sis. I was just going to head for class and I heard about this party at CU later tonight. Have any of you heard about it?"

"Yeah, we're going," Nikki answered. Honestly, Nikki was trying hard to just put aside her history with her sister and focus on beginning a new chapter, even if it meant being nice to her. Their past was in the past and there was no point in bringing it forward again, "We'll see you there tonight, I guess."

"Oh yeah, see you guys then."

Brie watched her sister and Kelly walk away but little did they know that Brie was only planning yet another task to destroy her sister's picture perfect life.

* * *

College parties. Cody Rhodes had many of them to look forward to them and by the mere glimpse of some of them, he felt like he was going to have a good time in college. Sure, it sucked leaving West Beverly in a few months but college was where everything was going to happen. He'd already received his acceptance letter to CU and didn't hesitate in handing in his response.

Sure, there were plenty of other places he could go to but something about CU was calling him. He'd apply to schools all across the country but CU was the place for him. The plus side – many of his friends would be joining him. Maryse, Dolph, Jack – probably a few more.

There was just one person he wanted to join him at CU. She was standing right beside the keg stand. Eve Torres graced her presence at the party – in a silk and sexy blue strapless dress and black leather boots.

_She really knows how to light up a room, doesn't she? _Surely, Cody's feelings were getting in the way once again. His heart thumped inside his chest at the mere site of Eve Marie Torres. The way she looked in her dress was only a bonus for him. He didn't know if he could ever approach her with his true feelings. Since their night after the earthquake, things haven't exactly changed. He was falling for her – yet again.

Cody came forward to Eve, greeting her with a smile, "Thanks for the invite Eve. This party isn't too bad and I think I'm going to like college next year – won't you, if you come to CU?"

"I don't know about CU, just yet. It's not that I don't like it but I think there's a whole lot of schools that may have the things I'm looking for. Don't get me wrong – this is a nice place but Alex has been pushing me to try other places. He knows I'd really like to study acting and he brought up so many good acting schools from Chicago to New York to Paris. It's insane but I still have time."

This Alex guy. Not that he didn't have a problem with him but that's all Eve could talk about. Alex this. Alex that. To him, he felt that he had too much of a grab on the Latina, "Just keep looking and don't jump to conclusions. You'll find a school that's a perfect match – I just think CU is for me and possibly you."

"We'll see."

* * *

"Come on."

Nikki managed to pull Dolph into an unoccupied room. They were at some insane party so why couldn't they do something a little crazy? A little unorthodox? A little out of their element. Nikki slammed the door beside them and quickly smashed her lips up against Dolph's. He, being a non-stop sex thinking machine, wasn't going to push this away but for a moment – he did.

"I feel like something weird is going on, don't you?"

"What could possibly be going on? I'm with you – you're with me and there's no one else with us," she warned him before pecking him once more, "It's just you and I in here and I want to show you a good time and get your mind off of a few things. That's if you know what I mean."

"Nikki, this is really unlike you –"

"Unlike me? I'm just wanted to try something different and have some fun. I don't see any harm in doing so but if you don't want to, we could stop right here and I'll put an end to this."

If only the guys we're hearing him say things like this, he'd never hear the end of it. And what's the harm of having some fun? No one was getting hurt and everyone else was too drunk at this party to comprehend anything.

Dolph quickly went for Nikki's neck, planting soft kisses and it was there she knew she got him. She wasn't going to let anything ruin this moment. As his lips remained attached to her neck, Nikki began to slowly take the buttons off of Dolph's shirt. She wasn't wasting any time. Once his shirt was gone, the two got comfortable onto the couch and continued their session of love.

They just didn't know this affair was going to be a threesome. Secluded in a dark corner, a video camera was catching every moment of their very intimate affair. The figure smiled and said, "Perfect."

* * *

Evan Bourne was all alone during this party. His friends had all squandered away and he was left all alone with no one to enjoy this with.

To be honest, he didn't like being single. He had spent almost an entire year with Kelly and for the first time, he was a lone and he didn't like it. You get to a point where you really get use to something and when it's gone, it's a bit odd. The fact that your use to something for so long and then suddenly it's gone – it's an odd feeling.

Evan missed the sense of security you get with someone. The feeling that arises between the two is definitely hard to get rid of so that explains why he's feeling like this. Not to mention, he was surrounded by some many horny college students, displaying their affection to one another right in front of him. He assumed that this would be a good time to leave and find a new place to hang out.

With that, Evan took his half empty cup of beer and charged out of the frat house. There he could finally receive some peace and quiet and noticed how nice the sky was looking that night. He could feel the breeze brushing past him and quickly rubbed his arms to create a source of heat.

He let out a huge sigh and quickly finished whatever was left in his cup and tossed it onto the floor. He wasn't aware of anyone around him and was surprised when he heard, "That's not very good for the environment."

He wasn't going to lie but he was a little drunk. His vision was a little blurred and he couldn't really compose himself at all, "What? Who's there?"

"I'm here," from behind came Brie Bella, who had just finished her previous task and stumbled upon Evan, sitting by himself. "I hope you decide to pick that up because that's not very good for the environment. I don't appreciate the damage you're providing to this earth. It's unnecessary."

He smirked, "you're kidding, right?"

"You got me. Yeah, that was just my attempt at trying to be funny and all. It probably failed miserable," she sighed before taking the seat before Evan, "What are you doing here all alone? I thought you'd be inside enjoying the party and all."

"I just feel somewhat alone. It just feels weird when you don't have anybody when you were with someone for so long. It sucks. To make matters worse, I hate being surrounded by people who can't keep their hands off each other and it kind of makes me disgusted. I sound so pathetic, don't I –"

Despite her bad side, she still did have a good side to her and thought – why not – she's young, he's young. She's cute, he's cute. Why harm would it do? Brie turned Evan's face and quickly landed a kiss onto his lips. At first, he was surprised by the sudden kiss but wasn't going to let it end. Evan responded well to the kiss and the pair were going to finish this night off on a good terms.

* * *

Time to call it a night. Though a part of him wanted to remain and enjoy the party with his friends, Maryse gave Ted that little push so the two could start heading home. Somewhere on Mulholland, the couple was driving home on the rather empty roads. Though it probably has something to do with the time, seeing it was almost one in the morning.

It was quiet in the car – the only sound was the radio in the background. Miss Ouellet was staring at the window and Ted kept his eyes firm onto the road, looking back occasionally at Maryse.

"You're pretty quiet tonight."

He was right. Slowly, she turned around and looked up at him, "I'm just busy thinking about things you know."

"What are you thinking about? What's going on in the big mind of yours?"

A lot of things were going on in her mind. Her life, her past, her present and her future – everyday things like these would roam her mind, like any ordinary human being. Before she could say anything, the car behind them began to flash it's high beams. She looked back for a moment, finding the car behind them was oddly too close to them, "That car has it's high beams on and that can blind you. Not to mention, he's pretty close to us. Someone needs to tell this guy to back off."

"I'm already going over the speed limit. I'll just let him pass," with the window open, Ted made a gesture to allow the driver to pass by but it wasn't quiet working, "I don't get it. He doesn't want pass so what does he want?"

Fear captivated her body and only bad thoughts emerged over the individual trailing them. As she turned around, she couldn't make around a face or anything. It was too bright. The car was only getting closer and closer. As Ted was approaching a turn, he had to slow down but that wasn't stopping the automobile behind them. Suddenly, the pair were rear-ended by the driver.

It had taken them by surprise. Ted's body bounced against the wheel, inflicting some pain onto his abdomen. Still driving, he focused his attention onto Maryse and her condition, "Are you okay? I don't understand what the hell this guy is doing," in a fit of panic, Ted looked back and couldn't make anything out. The only option was to speed up, "I got to speed up and lose him quick."

Maryse had struck her head against the roof of the car but was fine, "Ted, just pull over and let him past."

Another sharp bump into the rear sending the shockwaves jolting through their body. Ted didn't just want to pull over. They could still ram them off the road. For a moment, he looked at Maryse, "just buckle up and everything is going to be okay. Buckle up!"

In seconds she had placed the seatbelt on and looked at Ted. There was something in his expression that told her that everything was going to be okay. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt them.

Ted tried his best to speed up but it wasn't working. The car slammed again and again. Fear trickled down Maryse's spine, clutching onto the handle bars that were provided in the car. The car was soon moving over, scratching against the side of their car. Eventually, it had pulled up but nothing could be seen. The windows were tinted. The car beside continued to slam into their car. Ted wanted to fight back. He quickly sent a bump back but wasn't enough. Maryse's car was smaller than the other drivers.

"You maniac! Stop it! Leave us alone!" The screech of her scream didn't scare off the driver but only seem to have made him madder.

"What the -?" Ted paused for a moment and feared that he was soon going to lose control of the vehicle. The car continued it wreckage and he attention was caught when he saw a construction site. The car continued to push the vehicle in the opposite direction and there wasn't much Ted could do, "come on," he tried and tried to move past but he couldn't.

Maryse looked forward for a moment, catching a glimpse of the construction site and of Ted. She didn't say a word, even after the car went barreling into the construction site. Ted couldn't see anything and was losing control of the vehicle. The other car had stopped while theirs went crashing into construction materials. Soon, they felt the car take a deep incline. It was then when Maryse released a scream of fear as the car turned over, flipping down the cliff. The noises filled the wooded area as the car took pieces of the woods with it. The two could only feel everything spinning around and around. The car eventually came to a halting stop, landing on a lower road.

Smoke filled the air, as did the smell of gas. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by Maryse's body. Eyes closed and there was no response. Simply every turn he made with his body, there was some sort of pain associated with it. He released himself from the seatbelt and he could smell both smoke and gasoline. The engine had caught fire and this wasn't good. He scrambled away to release Maryse from the seatbelt, which he successfully did. He removed himself from the vehicle and soon after, he pulled out her body. With both hands, he picked her up. Even with the injuries he had sustained, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. With whatever strength he had left, he rested her body down far away from the vehicle. Sirens had filled the air – help was coming. Someone must have seen something and notified the authorities.

Cuts and scrapes filled Maryse's body. Ted rested his hand on her waist and when he pulled it back up, it was drenched in blood. Her injuries were much more severe than he had originally known.

"I told you everything was going to be fine and it will be fine. You just have to stay with me," he spoke but there wasn't a word spoken. He gentle pulled a piece of her hair back and said once again, "you'll be fine. I know you will."

He wasn't going to lose her like this. This wasn't going to happen. With his fingers, he removed a piece of hair covering her face. The noise of the sirens came screeching forward and Ted could see a vehicle approaching in the distance. The lights flashed into his eyes as he held Maryse in his arms.

The car soon exploded afterwards and Ted clutched her body, hoping it wouldn't inflict anymore pain onto the blonde. Looking at her once more, his thoughts provided insight on his feelings.

_I just got you back and I'm not losing you again. _

* * *

**A/N:** Back - a little late, eh?  
Requests are open for the time being so if your interested - Request :)  
And follow me on twitter - thatCHICKx  
Take care xx

_Next chapter - Ted and Maryse are rushed to the hospital and Torrie and John have a heart to heart_


	44. Sex, Lies & a Video

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty Four - Sex, Lies & a Video_

"Where am I?" were the very first words to spill through Maryse's lips when she first opened her eyes and found herself laying on a hospital bed in the middle of a night. Though groggy, her eyes came full the moment she witnessed the countless machines hooked to her body through needles. With a spare hand, she reached up and felt up on her face. She could feel the fresh cuts and bruising that surrounded her face. It didn't feel very pleasant so she'd already known her looks have been damaged.

The room was blank. It lacked any form of feel though the noise from outside walls kept the room in check. The lamp to her side provided very little light and made her feel like she wasn't alone. She certainly wasn't alone as the pain lingered through her body. A mere move of any joint caused her to wince in pain and release a subtle groan through her mouth. This wasn't good as Maryse didn't have much memory of the last few hours or how she even ended up here in the first place.

It all began to make sense when Ted DiBiase came through the door, an elated smile present when he found the blonde responding once again. To think he almost could have lost her tonight and the joy that had risen up when he's discovered that she was alright. His injuries didn't go unknown – a bandage over his forehead from stitches he had received earlier that evening.

Quickly, he rushed to her bedside and pecked her on the cheek, "Your okay. Thank god you're okay. I thought I almost lost you out there before but you're okay."

She grew puzzled, still curious why she was sitting in a hospital bed in the first place, "Ted, what am I even doing here? How did I even get here in the first place?" pondered the blonde, as she readjusted her sitting position to a much more comfortable one, "What am I doing in the hospital?"

"You probably don't remember too much – you were pretty banged up. Maryse, we got into a bad car accident while we were driving home. Some crazy person practically rammed us of the road and almost got us killed."

She was stunned. Her expression matched her feelings. Ted's confession was a tough one to take in. Nowhere in her right mind would she ever believe that someone would intentionally try to hurt Ted or herself. A few tears spurred through her eyes and Ted was quick to soak in the tears with his shirt while hugging her tightly.

"Maryse, listen – there's no need to cry for anything. You're going to be fine. I'm fine. We're both okay. The police are investigating all of this and they're going to find the person who did this to us, okay? Everything is going to be fine and we have nothing to worry about," it was his duty to keep her calm and relaxed and he did just that. Maryse managed to calm down a little while Ted went on, "I called your mom and she'll be back from Miami first thing in the morning. It's okay, babe."

"Tonight just seems to be some sort of really scary nightmare –"

Little did Maryse know that this nightmare was only beginning and was only going to get increasingly worse, just as the doctor came in and on his mind, some news that would certainly change everything.

She tried her hardest to keep a straight face but in the face of perfection, cracks slowly began to surface, "Miss Ouellet – I can see you're finally up. This is some remarkable improvement. I'd like to speak to you about something we discovered while we were performing a minor surgery earlier this evening," by the mere tone, the news wasn't much good news.

Ted made room for himself by Maryse's side, clutching her hand while they awaited the news. Maryse gently swished back her hair and looked over at the doctor with concern, "Is everything okay, doctor? Is there something wrong with me?"

"No, not at all. There's nothing wrong with you but with something else that we discovered," and here went nothing. "We were performing a minor surgery when we noticed a lot of bleeding from your abdominal region. We feared of a possibly appendix burst or another digestive sort of issue but that wasn't it. The doctors and I actually located a very small fetus that had suffered injuries from the crash. Miss Ouellet, you were pregnant… but unfortunately the child didn't make it through the accident. I'm so terribly sorry."

The grief stricken pain from all of this was equivalent to a bullet through her heart. She could feel her stomach turning and her heart sinking into her chest. Never in her life did she ever want to hear something like this. It was strictly too much for her to handle. An eruption of tears followed and quickly, she feel into her boyfriend's arms for support. The emotional distraught was too much for her to handle.

"I was pregnant? I was going to have a baby. I was going to be a mother and now – now I've lost my baby. I lost my baby."

Ted reacted somewhat different – he just wasn't showing it. He kept a strong face though he did look shocked. One of them needed to stay strong for the sake of the other and he volunteered to complete that task. Ted held Maryse, as her tears sprayed onto his shirt while he went forth and asked a question.

"Maryse was pregnant?"

"Unfortunately yes – the baby wasn't too much along. A few weeks at most but the trauma from the crash, it would have never survived. Again, I am greatly sorry for the lost you two have endured. I'll give the two of you some time alone now."

Shortly after, the doctor had departed the room and it was only Maryse and Ted who remained. Maryse – still shocked – hadn't moved from her position but remained upset at the devastating news. Maryse finally came through with some words, "Ted, we were going to have a baby," she spoke, in between her sobs, "I was going to be a mother and you were going to be a father. I don't understand this. I don't understand why any of this has to happen to us."

And all he could do was agree with Maryse, "Me too, Maryse – Me too."

* * *

The Los Angeles sun was coming into full swing that morning. The ray of sun was slowly casting it's shadow over the sleeping pair of Nikki and Dolph. The mere thin sheets of Dolph's bed kept the two warm in just the right places. The twin's head was resting on the chiseled chest of Mr. Ziggler's and was the first to wake when the sun came into direct contact with her eyes.

After last night's party, the two were recovering from a horrible hangover – Nikki a little more. She somewhat began to regret the keg stand she did. While her body began to rose, she felt the heaviness in her head. When it came to things like this, she'd quickly rush by to the nearest computer to locate the quickest remedies for a hangover. She slipped by Dolph's grip and found a spare t-shirt of his to wear. Lucky for her, the computer was already on and running. Just before she'd check for anything else, she'd quickly log onto her facebook – just to give it a quick peak. She knew a camera made its presence last night and there would be plenty of pictures already posted. People are quick like that.

She'd go down her newsfeed and check some people's statuses – some felt the same way as her, hungover while others were already off to the beach but there was one that really stuck out to her. Wade Barrett had posted a link into his status with the words – Look what I found and must watch – in big and bold letters.

Curious like a cat, Nikki went along and opened the link. The link led her to a adult-oriented site with plenty of things she wasn't too necessarily interested in. The video had begun to play but it was rather dark in the first place and figured that it was some joke Wade was playing – it wasn't until the night-vision went into effect and it revealed a lot more. A couple apparently getting very intimate with one another and this camera had gotten every second of it.

The twin looked closely and examined the video. All she could see was the backside of the couple but that all changed once the familiar looking faces were finally revealed and it would certainly change everything.

"Dolph! Wake up!"

Mr. Ziggler was quick on his feet and his body shot up in fear. He was greeted by Nikki's frame sitting beside the desk. He released a loud groan and complained, "Please tell me you woke me up for a good reason – I was having this great dream –"

"There's a sex tape of us on the internet! There's an actual video of the two of us having sex and it's on the web."

"A sex tape? Like the one Kim Kardashian and Ray J were in a few years ago?"

"That's not really helping Dolph," she stared at the screen, still taking it all in and Dolph soon joined him, "The whole school must have seen this thing already. Wade posted it up just right now."

Dolph could notice the surroundings of the room in the video. It looked all too odd to him but then it struck him immediately, "Nikki – this is from last night. Look at the room and the clothes…well, we're not wearing them anymore in the video but we were wearing them. Someone tapped us last night."

"You've got to be kidding me…"

Then the text messages came rolling in. The news was definitely spreading quickly. Tiffany had shot a text to the twin. _Nikki! There's a video of you and Dolph online! What the hell is going on girl? A lot of people say Wade taped it but he wasn't at the party. He had a baseball game. Call me later – Tif x_

Dolph's text messages were much more different. Seeing this from a man's perspective, Jack has sent a much more different text message. _Dude, little Ziggler is all over the internet. What the hell happened? At least I know you lost your virginity. – Jack_

Nikki could feel her world crashing, along with the reputation she had built up with this. She could already picture the weird stares she'd be receiving in the hallways come this Monday. It wasn't something she was exactly looking forward too. It can be rewarding to be the center of attention but not in a matter like this. This Bella could feel her world just coming to a complete crash.

Dolph crashed back onto his bed while his hands rested on his forehead. He knew how this could affect a lot of different things – not necessarily his reputation but his chances of getting into a school or his worst fear would have to be if the wrong people figured this out – a.k.a his family. It would be a huge blow.

Not only thinking of himself, he came back on and found Nikki in a distraught mess. This could certainly put a strain on her. In situations like this, he could easily see Nikki being hit hard with this little incident. It's always the girl who gets the blame, a little more than the guy.

Nikki came forth and quickly wrapped her arms around Dolph. This wasn't exactly the greatest thing to wake up to.

"Dolph, everything is ruined. Do you know how many stares we'll get? How many rumors will flare up because of this? I can already see everyone just lining up around me and calling me a whore or a slut. What the hell are we going to do? I'm already thinking of an excuse I could use to get out of class on Monday. I may need one for the week."

Sure, the confrontation at school was going to be tough but Dolph had his mind on the person who actually did this, "But who the hell managed to get away with this? Who actually managed to film us last night?"

"Whoever it is – once I get my hands on them, I'm going to kill them with my bare hands."

* * *

A morning without a cup of coffee wasn't a morning at all. The moment Torrie would enter her kitchen in the morning, begin preparing some coffee and enjoying the rich smell that went along with the fresh brewed coffee. Similar to most mornings, she'd usually take a stroll outside into the backyard with her robe still wrapped around her body and take a seat surrounded by her colorful garden. Lucky for her, it was a Saturday so Nathan and Ella are sound asleep for a little while longer.

She found herself comfortable on a lawn chair. This morning was certainly a perfect morning. The weather was delightful and the peace was present in the air. She hadn't really had many pleasant mornings as of late. The distance between John and herself was present. The two hadn't been on very good terms in weeks. It was March already and there difficulties hadn't been put aside just yet.

Her morning coffee routine couldn't keep her mind off of it. Torrie took the cup into her hands, accepting the delicious liquid into her mouth. A sigh was released but there was no real relief.

This morning was certainly going to be different – just as she found John walking out with the newspaper tucked under his arm. The two instantly made eye contact with one another. She eventually placed her coffee down and maneuvered her silky brown robe.

John found his footsteps leading directly to the blonde, "Do you mind if I talk to you about something?"

"I'm listening."

John dropped the paper forward onto the empty table and sat before Torrie. He could see the anger in her eyes and knew that this should have happened a little bit earlier. _Here goes nothing._

"This has been going on for quite some time and I think I may have made a mistake earlier so I'd like to apologize for my little outburst because it wasn't necessary. It just made me think. I actually thought that there was a point where you doubted our relationship and thought we weren't meant to be but I thought about it more and more. When you're sleeping on the couch by yourself, you do a lot of thinking. I never thought about how you picked me over him and hat right now, you're with me and not with him. I just over reacted because I didn't think. I didn't think where we are right now – I'm with you with two kids and I'm going to be a dad once again."

"John, you know I'd never pick anyone over you. I love you and only you. There's a reason I never picked Billy or Carlito or AJ – it's because I'm in love with you. There's no one good enough compared to you. You're the one for me and I can't put it in any other words."

A smile came to his lips. It's the confirmation he wanted before but that he didn't need any more. This was the end game – Torrie and John – it was meant to be like that and no other way else. Torrie came forth, wrapping her hand around his cheek and leaving a soft kiss right on his lips, "I missed being able to do that."

"So do I," he snuck out a smile and quickly wanted a few other questions answered, "So can you tell me about the baby? I want some details – is everything okay?"

"Baby is good and healthy. Don't know if it's a boy or a girl – too early to tell. I'm due in late August or September and I have a doctor's appointment this Tuesday, which I kept pushing back because of our fight so now that it's over, you can come with me to get my sonogram."

"Did you tell anyone? The kids? My parents? Your parents?"

"Only Kelly and you know. I haven't told the kids but I'm ready whenever you're ready," right on cue. Nathan and Ella found themselves rushing outside in search of the parents, finding them in the backyard, "Well, we can tell them now if you'd like."

Nathan and Ella, being there usual hyper selves rushed over to their parents. Nathan directly toward John while Ella went for her mother and Nathan went on to ask, "We were looking for you everywhere. We looked in your room, the living room and garage and we finally found you here. We're starving and we really want pancakes."

"– And ice cream!" inserted Ella, expressing her desire to have something sweet, "With chocolate syrup and sprinkles."

"We have some news to tell you guys."

"This better be more important than pancakes and ice cream," Nathan responded to his father's remark with only something suitable for a child.

Torrie took it into her authority to make the announcement while she held Ella in her lap, "Well, I'll just go and say it – you guys are going to have a little brother or sister. Mommy's going to have another baby."

The kids quickly expressed their happiness, Ella being first, "I hope you have another girl Mommy – girls are better than boys and I want a little sister that can do everything I want her to do."

"Honey, she's not going to be your slave," informed John, "he or she is going to be your brother or sister and you've got to help your mother out too."

"And it's not going to be a she, Ella – it's going to be a he and we're going to boss you around and –"

Torrie was quick to end that sentence with her interruption, "Hold it right there – don't finish that sentence. All you two are going to do is be a good brother and sister to the new baby."

The fact that her family was expanding etched a smile into her face. Just like every girl dreamed of their perfect wedding day, Torrie also dreamed of having her perfect family to go along with it. Her perfect family was only going to get better once their newest bundle of joy arrived.

"– Please tell me everything is alright!"

Eve was probably the last of the girls to hear about the accident Maryse and Ted had gotten into. She was definitely surprised to hear but was waiting patiently for Kelly to notify her that everything was okay now.

"There both fine, thank God. I'm heading over there right now so I'll let you know how the two of them are holding up once I get to talk to them."

"I'll try and see if I can make it later. I'm just going to go to breakfast with Alex now. I'll talk to you later, Kel."

She just managed to end the phone call the moment she got outside Alex's frat house. The house was a mess when she got there but seeing that there was just a party here last night, she wasn't necessarily surprised by the appearance of the home and not to mention; only men live in this house.

As she was about to knock, she could find the door was already opened and invited herself in. Immediately, she was introduced to another woman who seemed to be impatient. Her dark hair ran down her body, she had a glossy smile and she was looking for Eve Torres. Naomi Knight was on a mission and it just got a lot easier.

"You must be Eve Torres," the woman answered, "I've been looking for you."

Eve knew Naomi was a student at West Beverly but wasn't properly introduced to her. The Latina didn't have much information on Naomi. The girl just came in this year and was somewhat lost in the crowd.

"Um, yeah – I'm Eve and I think your Naomi, right?"

"Naomi Knight's the name. I was just actually looking for you because I'd like to talk to you about something if you don't mind," she rested her hands at her hips while her smile slowly faded. "It's actually about Alex Riley."

_What does she want about Alex?_ The brunette was slowly growing more interested with what she wanted to talk about, "What do you want to talk about?"

The smile had completely disappeared at this point, "Listen here Eve – I'm going to say this once and once only. You are to stay far away from Alex, do I make myself clear? I see how you were making yourself rather comfortable with my man and I reckon that you stay away from him."

Now she was beyond confused. Alex never mentioned to her that he had a girlfriend, "Naomi, I'm not here to cause problems or anything but Alex never mentioned to be that he had a girlfriend. He told me his was single," she could understand her scorn but Eve herself was a bit upset, seeing that Alex may have lied to her. "I think it's best we let him explain."

"I'm not his girlfriend – I'm his ex but we're in the process of getting back together and I wouldn't want any roadblocks in the way so you better stay clear and far out of my way."

Eve wasn't at all intimidated. It was just another case of the jealous ex-girlfriend who doesn't want her ex to be with anyone else. Eve was going to give it to her, "I can see why he dumped you in the first place but Alex is a big boy and if he wanted to be with you, he'd be fixing this mess he got himself into but he's not. Naomi, I'm sorry but I'm not going to listen to you. I really like Alex and he really likes me too and if I want to date him, I'm going to date him."

Naomi shot out a disgusted look and an eye roll, "Are you sure he really likes you? I mean, he still hasn't asked you out. I'm sure he's so in love with you."

She did have some point – she had to give it to her. If Alex really liked her, he would have asked her out by now.

"Eve? Naomi? What are you guys doing here?"

Down the stairs came Alex in a pair of gym shorts and shirtless and was rather surprised to find two women at the head of his stairs. It wasn't a bad thing but whatever it was going to lead to wouldn't be too great.

"Alex, I'd like you to tell Eve that she better get her dirty hands off of ya," professed Naomi. "We all know that you and I are supposed to be together and this girl isn't going to ruin all of this."

"Naomi, what the hell are you talking about?" said a frustrated Alex. It created a grin on Eve's face. "Naomi, you and I broke up 2 months ago. We had a great time together but that's it. You've got to let this thing go and move on. I don't understand why you're still so hooked onto me."

"Because I'm still in love with you –"

"– but I'm not in love with you, Naomi," it was rather harsh but the truth hurts. "I think it would be a good idea that you leave now. I think you've embarrassed yourself enough.

Naomi knew she may have lost this battle but this war was far from being over. When she turned around, she came into one last confrontation with Naomi who said, "This isn't over, girl," and soon after her final remark, Naomi left the frat house.

Eve sighed. Alex came down the steps to officially greet Eve and apologize to her, "Hey – listen, I'm sorry about all of that. Naomi isn't the type of girl to take no for an answer and the break up was kind of hard for her. I knew I shouldn't have invited her last night but I thought she was over it and we could be able to be friends."

"She had a few screws loose but it's okay. This isn't your fault. I just want to see if you're ready for breakfast," Eve told Alex. "I'm in a mood for some nice pancakes and there's this great place on Pico that has awesome pancakes.

Alex had a different plan – one that would make the occasion a little more personal and fune, "Change of plans – mind if I cook breakfast for you? Did I mention that I can make heck of a stack of pancakes?"

* * *

The pressure to meet your significant other's parents was always a difficult task. It was never easy to handle – to make matters worse; Tiffany Terrell had to meet with Jack's parents at a Hollywood charity event, only applying more stress onto this already rigid task.

When Jack met her parents, he made it seem like it was a walk in the park. Jack had his experience with meeting girlfriend's parents but Tiffany never had experienced this. What was she to say? Her friends tried their best to provide some advice but it didn't stop her from feeling for nervous about it all. With all the confidence in the world, Tiffany was still shaking from head to toe. Her nervousness showed through the designer red gown with tan pumps with her hair resting gently in a set of curls. She may have looked beautiful but she was so nervous.

Jack unexpectedly came forward to Tiffany with a straight smile, "Hey, you alright? You look a little nervous."

"Well, I'm meeting your parents for the first time and I've never exactly done this before but other than that, I'm on top of the world," the sarcasm just rolled off her tongue. "Jack, why couldn't I meet your parents with a nice simple dinner? I mean, I don't mind coming to the party but to meet your parents for the first time. How am I going to get them to like me?"

Jack obviously didn't see the big deal in Tiffany complaining but he wasn't in her shoes. He had to do his best to reassure her, "Tif – everything is going to be okay. My parents are going to love you. All you've got to do is be yourself and that's it. There's nothing else to worry about. You're going to do great."

"I really hope so –"

"You've got nothing to worry –" right at that moment, Tiffany found Jack silenced by something. A smile came across his face as he walked by Tiffany to a smiling brunette who had apparently just walked into the room, "Katie, is that you?"

"Jack!" The brunette cried out, making her English accent known to the public and quickly offering Jack a big friendly hug, "I knew I'd expect to find you here. You've always came to this charity event since we were little kids."

Tiffany felt…well…awkward, to say the least. There she was standing there while her boyfriend was getting touchy with the British export. She gentle squeezed herself into the conversation, "I don't mean to be rude or anything but I don't really know who you are."

"Oh sorry – Katie, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Tiffany. Tiffany, this is my friend Katie."

"Well, we were more than friends. We actual dated for a short time period when I was still living in the states. It wasn't until I had to move about three years ago that Jack and I had to break up," Katie inputted into the conversation. "But it's a pleasure to meet you."

Tiffany shot a fake smile. She already wasn't exactly fond of Katie's appearance. It was so sudden and unexpected. The fact that she was Jack's ex didn't make the situation any easier than it already was. She was nice, for now.

"So you moved here and you're visiting?" implied Tiffany.

"Actually," this was certainly going to be a big bombshell for Tiffany, "I already finished my schooling back in England and I plan on studying at a local university in LA so I'm probably going to be moving back. My parents aren't much for it but I love Southern California so much that I just needed to get back here as soon as I could. I've already done some apartment hunting here and there – looking for places near Venice and Santa Monica. Do your parents still have the beach apartment in Santa Monica, Jack?"

"They still do. I really liked it there actually."

"Well, we may be neighbors because I put my name down for the vacant apartment below you. Imagine if we're neighbors? It will be like as if we were still little kids again."

Tiffany did not like this – she did not like this at all. Katie was rubbing her the wrong way and it was making her rather suspicious than anything. The woman had a different set of intentions and Tiffany wasn't fond of it. What bothered her the most was Jack's actions. The simple grin on his face told her everything she needed to know and it was everything she didn't want.

"Well, I best be going. There's tons of other people I must see and I'm in a rush. Jack, wonderful to see you again and Tiffany, it was a pleasure meeting you. I'll see you two later."

With Katie gone, it was Tiffany's turn to get her point across now, "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Jack, do not act stupid with me. You were all into her. You couldn't keep your eyes off of her and it only got bigger with every little thing she said. Just tell me know, do you still have feelings for her? Because I'm not here to be in an relationship where my boyfriend is in love with his ex."

"Whoa – hold on just a second. I am not in love with Katie. We dated almost three years ago and then she left for England. I have no feelings for her at all and there's nothing you should be worrying about. I'm with you and nothing else matters. Don't get all worked up for no reason. It's unnecessary. Katie was the past and it's going to stay like that. I was only happy to see her again. I haven't seen her in years. She's just an old friend at this point."

She didn't want to fight and Jack sounded truthful and convincing to her. It was only this one ex-girlfriend. Why was she jumping to conclusions for no reason? Tiffany sighed and grinned, "Your right. I should worry about other things than something like that – like perhaps your parents who I see are coming in our direction. Crap."

"It's going to be fine. You've got nothing to worry about."

* * *

Brie Bella knew how to work men – she'd work them like a model works the catwalk. That's why she was enjoying the time she had been spending with Evan Bourne. Following their little rendezvous with one another, things quickly turned much more physical than anything else.

Unlike her sister Nikki, Brie wasn't a girl who liked to keep a relationship for too long. She wouldn't even call them relationships because they were that short. She'd generally call them flings, if anything. They were mainly physical and it always lacked that emotional connection a couple needs to operate.

She looked into the reflection of her mirror and found Evan making himself rather comfortable on her bed. A smirk swept passed her lips. Her mind was always shifting through ideas so she could get closer and closer to destroying her sister's reputation here. It began with a video but Brie needed to know more. Nikki wasn't just an open book – it required some research and time. It required getting some dirt and Evan could be the key to that.

It was right there when the idea just came to her head. She knew the way into a man's mind.

Brie turned around, with that seductive look in her eye. Evan glanced back at her, somewhat confused and not aware of what exactly he should do. Suddenly, her arms began to unzip the floral dress that was baring her body. It didn't take long for the dress to slide down and there was Brie – bare chest and all. The only fabric covering her body was the lacy underwear.

Evan – speechless – didn't move a muscle. He could only watch as Brie slowly approached him. His heart began to thump faster with every anticipating step she had made. He could feel a sudden flash of heat pass through his body. There was a topless woman walking right into his direction. He didn't know how to react.

Brie took the control. She pushed Evan's body back and simply got on top of him. The twin smirked, "So shall we finish what we started last night? I didn't get to give you the whole show – only a little pre-show."

Still nothing. Just a whole lot of silence coming from Evan's part.

Now Brie was getting a little nervous, "Evan, say something. You just keep staring at me like I am so kind of ghost."

"Uh…" Finally, he speaks. "I'm just – just. Brie…" It was truly hard to admit it to her because it was pretty embarrassing but he had to do it. If he turned this down, he could already imagine the gay rumors filling up the mouths of kids at school, "I'm still a virgin."

Brie didn't find it pathetic but somewhat cute. He knew of his past relationship with Kelly and was surprised the two hadn't hooked up all the way, "You're a virgin? But you were with Kelly and the two of you never did anything. I'm somewhat surprised but it's okay. Trust me; I know what I'm doing."

"I hope so."

Brie wasn't going to waste any more time. Before anything else, she quickly disposed of his red plaid shirt and made her way for Evan's neck, leaving gentle kiss against it. She didn't have feelings for Evan. All she knew was that Evan was a ticket to being able to destroy Nikki. If she could get through him, she could get anything she wants.

Brie Bella was only up to no good.

* * *

**A/N:** Slowly getting the edge back for this story and I've finally figured the ending of this story.  
Another 15 chapters left. Kinda of sad =(  
Anyway, Please leave a review! Thank You!

_Next chapter - Kelly catches onto Cody's feelings for Eve  
_


	45. Red Flag!

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty Five - Red Flag!  
_

"Do you think she'll be surprised?"

That was the thought on everyone's mind. Would the French Canadian be surprised by the whole get together they put together for her return home from the hospital? Maryse's closest friends put together a small get together to celebrate Maryse's homecoming. The party was created as if Maryse was the one who planned it herself. Waiters filled the living room, delivering small tasty treats for the guests while a bartender was mixing drinks over by the fireplace. They went out of their way – like Maryse would – and even had Maryse's name printed on the napkins. Too say the least, the girls definitely know how to throw a party.

Tiffany, Jack, Brie and Evan were over by the pool, having a ball talking to one another. Dolph and Cody were only interested in finding out the score on the Lakers game while Eve, Kelly and Nikki spent putting together the final touches to this party. A few other guests showed up as well – Mike showed up, so did AJ and Johnny Curtis, who were officially together and then there was Natalya and Beth conversing with one another.

Nikki expressed her concern, thinking that the day wouldn't go well, "Do you think she is going to like this? I mean, we did do everything as if she did it. I mean her name on the napkin is something she would do. It's very Maryse-like."

"I think Maryse would just approve our company and the fact that we put the whole party together just for her. She's going to really look at the kindness we showed by putting this shin ding together." Eve and Nikki responded with an unamused facial expression but Kelly quickly got rid of that. "We all know we're going to hear a lecture later on how to really throw a party."

"Now that's very Maryse like," added the Latina with brown locks. She took note to the footsteps that were heard beside the door and quickly alerted her friends. "Everyone, she's here. Quiet."

The chatter ended the moment Eve opened her lips and they all waited quietly for Maryse to come in through the door. The door slowly creaked open and soon Maryse would be greeted by the faces of friends and one loud, "Surprise!"

More than anything, she was stunned. A weak smile formed but she still wasn't exactly feeling it. With everything that happened, she just wanted some peace. Though the gesture of having the party was nice, she just wasn't up to it.

Ted popped up beside her moments later while she continued to digest what was happening. He was expecting to see a thrilled Maryse but saw a more sadden one instead. It eventually rubbed off onto him, seeing his plan on getting Maryse to be herself wasn't a success.

Before anyone could say anything, Maryse gestured them to stop. "Listen guys, I really appreciate this. This party is really nice. I can see the napkins even have my name on it. That's definitely something I would do but I'm just not in a state where I want a party or anything. I'm extremely grateful that you came out to celebrate and cheer me up but I'm just not ready for it. Thank you. I'm just going to excuse myself but please do enjoy yourselves."

Maryse tackled the challenge she had at hand but fluttered away up the stairs and straight for her room. The other guests quickly returned to their conversations, which eventually turned into about Maryse. Just the way she'd like it – being the center of attention. On the other hand, Eve, Kelly and Nikki came forward and wanted some answers.

"What happened? I thought this was going to be the right thing to cheer her up," But sadly it didn't and Kelly didn't expect that.

Ted scratched his head in confusion. "She was fine in the car. We weren't really talking but she was fine and seemed good. I guess maybe this just brought something up. I don't know but I'm going to go and talk to her. I'll be right back."

The football player ascended up the stairs but was disturbed when he found Mike smirking at him, in a confused way. He ignored it but grew a little curious for his behavior but that wasn't the focus at the moment. Ted raced to Maryse's room and he gently knocked on the door and peeped his head in, "Can I come in?"

Maryse was assembling some clothes together onto her bed. This had to be the first time Ted had ever seen her in a state like this. It was almost like she wasn't living or anything. Even after speaking, she still hadn't uttered a single word which started to scare Ted.

"Maryse, say something. I'm really worried about you. What's going on? I thought this party would do something to cheer you up but nothing. Talk to me, babe."

She always found it cute when Ted would get worried because he was never the type to really act this way. He always had that bad boy persona and it was just weird to see him out of his element. Placing down the blue blouse onto the bed, Maryse paused and looked at Ted. The concern could be read in his eyes.

"This whole party thing is wonderful. It was so sweet for everyone to put this together but I'm just not ready for this. I can't get over what happened. I will probably never get over it. This state I'm in isn't easy so I decided I'm going to take some time off and do things for myself."

"What do you plan on doing? I can help you. Whatever you need, I can help you."

"You've done so much these past two weeks, helping me in the hospital and all. You've done enough. It's time I help myself, by myself. Since spring break starts on Friday, I'm going to start mine a little early. My mother set a trip up for me. I'm going to Paris for a little while just to clear my mind and think about my life. I just went through something difficult and I really need some time for myself. You did everything in your power to help me but I don't want you to stress yourself more than you already have. I need to do this for myself Ted and I hope you understand."

He didn't really agree nor did he want to. Ted had moved past the situation, though he'll never forget that he would be a father but life has its problems and we all move on eventually. Maryse hadn't yet let go of the situation and she needed to deal with it in her own way. Ted came around and eventually understood where Maryse was coming from and why she needed to do this?

"Okay…"

A little surprised, Maryse was taken back. "You're really okay with it?"

"I understand what you have to do," His body moved closer to hers and he grabbed a hold of her hands. "You need to do this on your own and I'm willing to do anything just to get you better and back to the old Maryse you were because I know she's hiding somewhere in there."

She smiled – the first smile in a long time. Ted pulled the blonde into a kiss, only to show his appreciation in a way they both could enjoy it.

* * *

Usually after Dolph would spend the night at Nikki's, he'd sneak down the stairs while she was still fast asleep and begin preparing breakfast. It was a routine for Dolph to make breakfast and it stood by as a little thank you for the Bella letting him stay the night. It was also a way to please Mr. Bella.

As the morning sunlight exposed its way through the window, Nikki's eyes shot open rather quickly. Her nose was quiet aware of the senses coming from downstairs and as she turned over to wake Dolph, she noticed he had disappeared and that could only mean one thing. Quickly, the twin found a large t-shirt and a pair of very short shorts and glided her way out of her room and down the stairs. At the start of the stairs, she could hear laughter filling the kitchen up. It wasn't a single laugh but also another laugh – a female laugh.

The idea at first wasn't too pleasing but once Nikki entered the kitchen, everything was making a lot more sense. Dolph was positioned right before the stove – only in a pair of gym shorts – flipping over some pancakes and making some bacon to go along with it. That didn't bother her. There was something else that was bothering her as she scanned the kitchen.

Nikki's only sister – Brie Bella – was seated on the counter top beside Dolph, laughing up a storm. The identical twin was clearly enjoying the company of her sister's boyfriend and Dolph seemed to be responding in the same matter.

"Good Morning," said Nikki, as she pulled into the kitchen standing across from Dolph and Brie. "Didn't know we were going to have company this morning then I would have gotten dressed a little better."

"Nikki, I've seen you in practically everything. You look great – even with the whole fresh out of bed look." Brie, for the first time, gave her sister a compliment despite the look. Nikki took a deep look at a silver platter on the counter and could see that her hair was similar to a bird's nest.

Dolph took a hold of one of the pancakes and flipped them over before looking back at his girlfriend, who he thought looked stunning regardless. "I'm making your favorite. I grabbed some of the blueberries in the fridge and decided to put them in the pancakes since I know you love them so much."

"Oh Nikki loves pancakes. There was a time when we all went to the Florida and we stopped at this diner before our flight. So Nikki, being the crazy little girl she is, ordered about a stack of pancakes. She devoured the whole thing but when we got on the flight, she had to go to the bathroom so she went and when she got out, there was this huge line of people waiting for her. Oh my god, she had never been so embarrassed in her life. Don't you remember that Nikki?"

Her eyes rolled and Nikki wasn't amused but that didn't apply to Dolph and Brie. "Let's save embarrassing stories for another day please. I don't want to hear anything about my bowel system."

Brie decided to focus some attention onto Dolph for a moment. "I also told Dolph about this really awesome place where we could rent jet skies. I told him we should all go."

"Yeah, that sounds cool but remember how I bang up my wrist a few days ago and I can't drive or operate vehicles so I wouldn't be able to go."

"Oh yeah." Brie didn't sound like she cared very much and continued on with the plans, "Well, Dolph and I could go. It's no big deal. We'll go again once your wrist gets better."

"You guys? The two of you alone?"

Dolph gave off a concerned look. "Something wrong Nikki?"

Did Nikki have to be a total and utter bitch to her boyfriend? Clearly he was excited but she couldn't just tell him that he couldn't go. It was a big bitch move. "Nothing is wrong. Just a little bummed out that I can't go. You two can go. I'll just go the next time we go."

"That's great because I was thinking of going right after breakfast. How about I run home, get changed and meet you back here in 20?"

"Sounds good. I'll be ready."

"Great!" Brie leaped off the counter and came over to Dolph, patting him on the back. "Wow. Someone is jacked. Maybe after I take you jet skiing, you can take me the gym and work me out good. I'm in need of getting in shape."

Red flag! In Nikki's mind, a red flag was raised. Was Brie just flirting with Dolph or was it a onetime comment thing? Now this she didn't like – even worse than the whole airplane story. Nikki, however, choose to wait a little until Brie left the house before she could say something to Dolph and by the look on his face, he already knew what was coming for him. He only wondered if it was too late to run.

"What the hell was that all about?"

Lucky for Dolph, he knew how to handle the situation. "I don't want you overreacting or anything but –"

Too little, too late Dolph Ziggler. "She was totally flirting with you and all. That comment about how muscular you are and that you need to work her out. Oh no, I do not like that at all. Not to mention the story about me on the plane, she was trying to throw me under the boss."

"You need to calm down. Brie's just trying to help rebuild the relationship you guys once had. Before you woke up, Brie and I had a real deep talk. She told me how she was sorry about everything that had happened before and really wanted to work with it and move on. All she wants is to have a real sister-like relationship with you and to be honest, I think she's trying," It wasn't really a confession Nikki was buying but she could see the genuine look in Dolph's eyes.

"And I think that going jet skiing with her would be a good chance for me to get to know her. I know it's weird that we're just going but if I'm going to be in a relationship with you, I want to be in good with your father, mother and your sister. Your father I'm still working on but I want to be able to talk to your sister and who knows? Maybe the two of us hanging out will benefit you and her repairing the relationship you guys once had. What do you say?"

He had brought up several valid points and all she wanted was to be happy and if this was going to solve issues and repair relationships, then she should do it. Not for the sake of herself but for her boyfriend and family.

It was pretty difficult to say but slowly, Nikki came to turns and said, "Okay."

Dolph leaned over the counter and gave the twin a peck on the lips. "This is why you're the best girlfriend."

"And you'll be the best boyfriend in the world if you get a move on with my pancakes."

* * *

There was a lot to be excited about this weekend especially with the fact that Tiffany was going to Catalina Island for the weekend. It was going to be her first real time out of Los Angeles and she was being accompanied by the wonderful Jack Swagger. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be going on this little trip.

There certainly was a lot more to see in California then just Beverly Hills. There actually happened to be a whole another world out there if you're lucky enough to see it all. But when you're dating a famous actor's son, you can see and experience a lot of different things than you'd normally be able to do.

Tiffany stood a top Jack's private yacht, enjoying the breathtaking views and hearing the gentle sea waters splashing away. It wasn't too long till Tiffany could see parts of the island from a distance. Examining the view, she reminded herself how lucky she had to be to get to experience this. It's not normal for any girl to get a chance to do this so she had to consider herself one lucky girl.

Though she was alone for the moment, she soon felt a pair of hands finding their way around her slender hips and eventually locking on tightly over her waistline. The figure lowered his head down to whisper in her ear, "Are you enjoying yourself Miss Terrell?"

Tiffany pushed her head back into his chest and Jack's lip came down forward and eventually met with hers. The moment was certainly striking, with the whole scenery and landscape before them.

When their lips parted, the former Louisiana native answered the question, "Jack, this is so beautiful. I've never seen something like this. Thank you for this – seriously, you do so much for me and there's not much I can exactly give you that could match something like this. I would have to give up all of my life savings to give you something even close to this."

"No need to thank me. I really wanted to do this. I've gone every year to this party on Catalina Island and this is the first time I'm taking some special so I had to pull out the strings out for today. Plus, my parents were sick of me coming alone with them to this party and they brought up the idea that I should bring you. The only thing I decided to do was go all out for you."

A smile etched across her face as she officially got confirmation that Tiffany had won over Mr. and Mrs. Swagger.

"So you parents must like me, huh?"

"They love you. They were actually telling me that I better not screw this up or anything and it's a good change of what I was originally bringing home."

"Who were you bringing home before me?"

"That's a discussion for another day and another time. Let's just enjoy the view instead of talking about all of my ex-girlfriends." The topic had to be put to rest because Jack wouldn't be able to bear to hear more questions and decided that enjoying the view was the best alternative at the moment.

* * *

"I've got to get going guys. I'm going over to Alex's."

Cody was growing more and more disgusted anytime Alex Riley was mentioned. While it made Eve smile, Cody cringed. He just hated anything Alex Riley-related. Cody may not even be there but his imagination went on and he could only think of how happy those two were. It made him even more miserable than he was. Before Eve could notice anything, the football player quickly placed his cringed, disgusted look away and replaced it for more of an appropriate one.

Kelly – who was sitting beside him – quickly picked up on Cody's facial expressions. The Latina may not have much of a clue but Kelly had her eyes open during this entire ordeal. Twisting her head over to Eve, Kelly offered a sweet smile for the Latina. "Have fun with Alex!"

Eve took Kelly's words of wisdom and sped off, leaving the blonde with the star athlete of the football team. Soon after Eve was far enough, Kelly slapped Cody's shoulder. "Okay, you've got some things to explain. You like Eve, again?"

Was it that obvious to notice? He was somewhat disappointed in himself. How could he let on his actual feelings for Eve? He released a cold sigh.

"Yeah, I like Eve – again. It's just –"

Cody had a very big confession he had to make. He clearly remembered he swore he was never going to tell but if he explains everything, maybe it will all be okay. Maybe Kelly will understand and swear to secrecy? The blonde was waiting patiently, giving off a uneasy expression.

"What I'm about to say, you cannot get mad nor can you ever tell anyone? I haven't told anyone about this at all. You're the only one and it has to stay that way."

"My lips are sealed."

He kept the thought in his mind that talking about this would only be a good thing. Letting something out that's bothering you is a good thing to do. He slowly prepared himself for his confession. "Yes, I do still have feelings for Eve. It all started during the earthquake. After you and Evan ran out of the locker room – I stayed behind. I ran into Eve too. That night, Eve and I slept with one another."

Kelly didn't have to say anything. He could transcribe the expression right off of her face. It was going to be difficult for her to digest – especially knowing that Cody and herself were fooling around at the time of this all. With her lips pursed together, she tilted her head around to Cody and nodded in a silent expression. "You slept with Eve? I can't believe that. Um, just give me a second to take this all in."

"I know you're mad but that same night, you ran out of me and chased after Evan. I had assumed that you had picked him over me and I was crushed. Eve just happened to be there and she was in a similar position as me. We just felt alone and comforted one another. I'm sorry that I did that to you, especially since we were together I guess."

"I normally wouldn't just forgive you like this but I did something horrible to you too. I had to run after Evan. Listen, that's the past and I'm not going to bring that up anymore. But, after this all – you started to develop feelings for Eve once again?"

Talking about this all, he was brought back to the very moment he and Eve had shared that night.

_An awkward silence entered the air and Cody found his head turning around and facing Eve. She looked beautiful. He wondered how much of an amazing girl she really was and how it was a little sad that he had ended their relationship. Eve gazed into Cody's eyes and felt that feeling come rushing back – the same one she received when she first met Cody and couldn't figure out an explanation why it was happening._

_The two wouldn't be able to explain what was about to happen next._

_Cody had made the first approach by laying a gentle kiss directly onto her plump beautiful lips. In response to the kiss, her hands traveled and made contact with Cody's cheeks. He continued to taste the raspberry lip gloss she had previously applied. Cody was always a gentle kisser and this was another reminder of how she first fell for him. The image of Ted had quickly exited her mind as Cody continued._

_Much to Cody's surprise, he could feel Eve tugging on his shirt wanting to pull it off. He broke the kiss for a moment, allowing the Latina to do as she pleased and immediately kissed her, after taking in a deep breath. Her eyes remained closed as she was reminded of how she loved the kisses Cody would provide. Ted's were a little rough for her taste but Cody were just right._

_Though she was doing something wrong, it never felt so right. Eve had always imagined that she'd lose her virginity to someone special and Cody was special. He was something more._

_"Not here," He whispered into her ear, "Let's go in there."_

_Cody grabbed her hand and led her into the vacant office, which provided a couch as well. The two stood right before one another, staring into each other's eyes as they both realized what was about to happen. Eve had her mind set – Cody was the one she did imagine she'd lose it too. Cody looked into her eyes and pressed his lips against hers once more. Moving their bodies to the couch, Cody kicked the door closed with his free leg. Any thought of Kelly exited the room when the door was closed as well as any thought of Ted went along with it._

_The moment had come and Eve couldn't have picked a better person to share it with._

"Ever since that night, I can't stop thinking about her. She's always on my mind – twenty four seven. Kelly, I don't know what I am going to do. I'm in love with Eve but she's in love with another guy."

"I really don't know what to tell you."

"Neither do I."

* * *

The night was simply perfect. Jack Swagger knew how to sweep a girl off her feet. Only he was the kind of guy who would turn a simple dinner into something so special and romantic. Tiffany was certainly pleased. After the eventful evening was over, the two were returning to their hotel room – exhausted from the long day they had.

Jack didn't necessarily want to go to sleep just yet. The night was far from over for him and he wanted to make the best of it. While Tiffany rushed into the bathroom, he sat on the bed and pondered. He really wanted to take their relationship to the next level and he knew the topic would be a difficult one for Tiffany. It was a decision that had left him bothered and confused. He thought that maybe tonight would be the night they could finally take the relationship to another level.

As soon as she popped out of the bathroom, Jack stood forward and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Surprised for sure – not that she was opposed by the kiss – but it was so much more different than Jack's usual kiss.

As soon as she pulled away, she smiled and asked, "That was surprising. What's up Jack?"

"I was thinking that maybe the two of us – well, we've been together for almost two months and I want to take our relationship to the next level," He came forward once again, pulling her into a kiss.

This time she was surprised. Even as he kissed her, she pushed him back for a moment and gave him an unsure look, "Jack, what do you mean that we should take our relationship to the next level? I think we're good the way we are right now."

"You know –"

He really didn't have to say what he really meant. Tiffany eventually got the whole picture. They were at the stage where they should have sex but Tiffany was not ready for that. She knew how Jack was in the past and all but she wasn't going to follow in the footsteps of his past girlfriends. This lady wanted to wait for the right time. Her virginity was something very special and you want to give that to someone you really care about and love. She didn't know if she would even lose it to him. Jack was going way too fast.

"It's like your two steps forward and I'm a step back. I'm just going to tell you the truth. Jack, I'm not ready for that yet. That's something that's very special and you need to understand that I care about you. I want to give it to someone that I love. I don't think we're at this point just yet."

To say the least, he was upset. He was hoping that during this trip something could occur between the two. Up until now, at least…

"Tiffany, it's really no big deal. Everyone is going to lose it someday so why can't you and I just get this over with?"

"Why do you act like it's nothing? Sex is a really big deal – especially that first time. I want to give that to someone I love. I care about you, don't get me wrong, but I want to wait for the right moment."

"Fine. You wait for that somebody else. You wait for that special someone. I'm probably not that person."

"Jack!"

Jack Swagger was confused. Tiffany kept saying that she wanted to have her first time with someone she loved. Did she not love him? Was he just being a fool? He didn't want to deal with this any longer and stormed out of the hotel room. As soon as he reached the hallway, he headed for the elevators and was surprised to see an old friend.

"Katie, what are you doing here?"

The British bombshell appeared to be staying at the same hotel. Immediately, she knew something was wrong, "You look pretty upset. Is there something bothering you?" He didn't answer. "Let's go into my hotel room and we can talk about it – I'm here for you."

What was he doing? He wasn't thinking straight. Katie guided him into her hotel room and as the door shut, he wondered if he was making a big mistake.

* * *

Eve had a smile on her face all day. It began when Alex Riley gave her a call early this morning to come over for dinner that he was cooking – she hadn't been able to remove the grin off her face. While she drove her car to Alex's frat house, her lips hadn't once twisted into a frown.

It wasn't until she came inside his frat house and found something rather surprising in the kitchen. Alex had everything prepared but was shocked to find Naomi there as well. Eve was now growing furious.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Naomi shrugged it off, "I'm here because Alex called me over. He called me this morning for something but didn't say anything."

"He called me over for dinner – just the two of us."

"Well maybe he really meant to invite me. I think this was the surprise he was talking about on the phone," Naomi was simply twisting the words that she heard, just so she could hurt Eve. "That's so sweet of him – to invite me over. He really knows how to please a girl like me."

Was this true? Eve was now beginning to suspect that she was being played with. She refused to be just another heart that was played with. Alex clearly had feelings for the both of them and he needed to make the choice. Eve was going to get it out of him whether he liked it or not. Alex was now coming down the stairs and she had to just let everything known.

"Hey Eve…and Naomi?"

"Alex, before you say anything else you need to decide on something. Naomi and I like you. We both have feelings for you and I think it's time you make up your mind. We're not going to sit around here and constantly wait for you to come around. Tell us the truth – who do you want to be with? I'm not going to have my heart be played around with. Make your decision and when it's time, come to one of us."

Eve was at the point where she was frustrated. She gave him the ultimatum and now it was his chance to tell her what he wanted in life. It was either Eve or Naomi – he needed to make a choice.

* * *

**A/N:** Horrible writer's block with this chapter. It sucked, I know.  
I've also trimmed the story down to only ten more chapters left.  
It's almost over - I know :(  
Please leave a review! :) Thank you!

_Next chapter - Tiffany learns about what happened that night Jack left._


	46. Fists of Fury

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty Six - Fists of Fury  
_

Nikki Bella had it up to here with her boyfriend and twin sister and their 'bonding.'

There they were, talking up a storm and Nikki was left there with her arms crossed. Dolph and Brie were in an in depth conversation over the result of last night's L.A Laker's game. Nikki could only wish that a gun was nearby so she could put herself out of this misery.

It's not that she was upset that this two were getting closer but what bothered her was all the attention Dolph was giving her. Its great Dolph is getting closer to Nikki's family but didn't like how close they were getting. She had put the animosity between Brie behind her but something was telling her it's not over.

"I just think if LeBron would come over to the Lakers, it would be an unstoppable team – don't you think?" Dolph asked Brie on her opinion.

Brie smirked, "I think your right. With his ability, the team would do so much better than it is right now." Then another idea had popped into her mind. "You and I have to go to a game. What do you say? We can definitely get courtside seats. It can be you and me and Nikki can come to but I know Nikki isn't much of a fan so I don't know if she would come. It may just be the two of us."

"That sounds –" When Dolph was just about to finish the story, when he turned to Nikki. She was not pleased whatsoever " – good but I don't think I may be able to go. Maybe a whole group of us could go? Jack and Cody are Lakers fans."

Brie knew what was going on. "Oh Dolph, I'm sure Nikki will let you off the chain for the day. I don't think there's a big problem, right Nikki? There's shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure of it."

Here we go again. Brie puts Nikki on the spot and now Nikki has to be the good sister and girlfriend to let Dolph go to the game. Instead, she decided to one up the whole thing and play a little game with Brie.

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise but I already got tickets for me and Dolph for the next Lakers game. It's for his birthday. I actually got courtside seats, along with a special VIP section with huge selection of food. And I've saved the best for last – I got backstage passes for you to meet all of the players and got autographs and pictures. It's going to be a great night."

Dolph's mouth literally dropped. In his mind, all he could think about is how lucky he really is. He looked over at Nikki, still in shock. "You're not kidding right? We're actually doing this! We're actually going backstage. This is awesome. Wait till I tell the guys!"

"Wow, Dolph." Brie was really unimpressed and knew what this was all about. "You've certainly got it good with Nikki over here. She really knows her ways to please her boyfriend. I'm sure we can go another time but I've got to go. I'll see you guys later."

Brie disappeared in a flash with a moment. Anger erupted through her body as she got farther away from Nikki and Dolph. She had to think of a better plan to destroy Nikki's life. There had to be another way.

* * *

"You really should talk to him. I know you're mad at him but I know you also want to fix things with him."

Tiffany and Jack have not spoken to one another since their incident on Catalina Island. Texts and phone calls have been ignored and Tiffany has spent time avoiding him in school. This wasn't going to work this way and they needed to settle this. Get this out in the open and do something about it.

"Your right before it's hard. I can't look him in the eyes and forget that he was being such a total ass. He didn't even care what I thought about it or anything." Tiffany confessed to Kelly. It was like she was getting the old Jack back. The insensitive one – the one she never wanted.

Kelly's seen plenty of relationships fail but she didn't want to watch Tiffany and Jack's relationship crumble. She was going to advise her friend to do the right thing. Issues like these are meant to be repaired and if you aren't willing to do so, will you be ready for conflicts that are much worse than this?

The duo was walking down the hallway, onto their lunch break while discussing this matter. "I think your best bet is to talk to him. Don't throw your entire relationship away because of something like these. Conflicts will always arise in relationships and if you want to give up over the first one, are you going to be ready to face other ones? Think about it Tiff. Don't throw everything away over one problem."

"Your right."

It was like this was all a huge set up. Just as their conversation was coming to a close, someone was at the end of the hallway waiting for her. Kelly looked over at Tiffany, with a sweet smile and told her, "Now is your chance and in no way was any of this set up. I'm going to go and leave the two of you alone."

Kelly disappeared in a flash and it was only Jack and Tiffany at opposite sides of the hall, staring at one another. Jack dress in a blue plaid button down with jeans and sneakers started coming down to the Louisiana native who was in a purple floral tunic, white shorts and gray sandals. Jack smiled while Tiffany glowed in her outfit.

"You look really beautiful."

"Thanks." She responded quickly.

"I really want to apologize to you for that whole mess that happened a few weeks ago. I was a real asshole. I didn't even think about you. I just thought about myself and what I wanted. Sex is a touchy subject and I shouldn't have had tried to force it onto you. I've just been in so many relationships where sex hasn't been a big deal. I've dated a ton of girls and we never really discussed sex as a huge issue in our relationship. It just happened and we moved on. I was quick to judge that all relationships were supposed to be like that. I hope you can find it in you to forgive me and we can move past this. I really miss having you around."

She smiled. "Apology accepted." He sighed in an instant as she came forward. "There's going to be a day where we hit that part of our relationship but it just isn't right now. What made you change your mind on everything?"

"I had a little help from a friend – that night we got into the fight, I bumped into Katie –"

That's where Tiffany had drawn the line. What was Jack doing with Katie? "Katie – as in your ex-girlfriend, Katie? You bumped into her at the hotel?"

"Don't jump to conclusions now, Tiffany. Yes, I bumped into her and spent the night with her but she was the one who made me realize everything. That night, we spent talking about it all. She explained that the relationship I shared with her and any other girls would not all be the same. Don't get mad at her – if anything; thank her for letting me see through everything. She was a big help and I don't want you thinking something happened."

Though Katie may have given Tiffany another vibe, maybe she did jump to conclusions. That shouldn't matter now. She got back the Jack Swagger she wanted to have all along.

To show her forgiveness, Tiffany came forward and planted a soft kiss onto Jack's lips. Jack accepted the kiss by deepen it. When he pulled away, he asked her, "So am I fully forgiven?"

"Yes you are."

Finally, things had returned to the way they should have always been. Jack took a hold of her hand and the two started walking towards the cafeteria. Jack then looked down to get confirmation that Tiffany would still accompany him to the prom. "So are we still on for prom? I was thinking that since we were fighting, we wouldn't be able to go to prom together."

"Are you kidding me? We are still on for prom, Mr. Swagger."

* * *

Any moment Cody could get with Eve, he would take it. Any chance to spend time with the girl of his dreams; he wouldn't hesitate to take the opportunity. That's what happens when you're falling hard for a girl. Like yesterday, Eve had a nail appointment and Cody asked if he could join. Yeah, it was pretty awkward. The guys certainly had a few unpleasant words to say. His trip to the nail salon was the center of discussion at lunch.

Luckily, he wasn't doing something humiliating to himself to get a chance to talk to Eve. They were in the student lounge, studying for an exam they had tomorrow morning. The two are in the same class and Cody thought this could be a great time to spend some time with Eve, though he wouldn't reveal his feelings for the Latina.

He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. Eve had a pair of dark skinny jeans on along with a red cardigan and cream color tank top. Her hair was rested along her body in bouncy curls which Cody always found very sexy on the Latina. His staring was going to get him in trouble eventually. Eve looked over at the football player and noticed how he couldn't stop staring. She blushed for a moment then asked with a smile, "Is there something on my shirt because you keep staring at me?"

"Uh – no, no, no. I was just looking at the girl behind you. She kind of looks familiar to me. I think I may know her." He pulled the fastest excuse out of his ass as soon as he could and decided to change the subject. "I just keep looking at the words and I can't focus. I wish studying wouldn't be so hard."

"I'm happy I'm not the only one." In response to his statement, she slammed the book shut and placed it onto the table before her. "Can we just ditch this for a little while and maybe go and do something? If I read one more thing on the cold war, I am going to kill myself."

Though the test was extremely important, it would be a good idea to just take a break and get their minds off of things. Cody also slammed his book shut and looked over at Eve. "What do you have in mind and I hope it's not the nail salon because if I guys hear I went again, I'm never going to hear the end of it."

"Don't worry." She chuckled. "We won't go do something like that but I'm really surprised you actually wanted to come and join me. You sat there for two hours watching me get my nails done. You must have been really bored."

"Yeah, let's not do that again."

She smiled. "I think you'll like this idea a lot better. There's a huge fair going on by the Santa Monica Pier. We should totally go for a few hours to get our minds off of studying."

Going to a fair and it would just the two of them? Could he have asked for anything better? Any chance to spend time with Eve is time spent well.

"You've got yourself a deal. Let's get our things together and I'll meet you by your locker in five minutes."

"That's perfect." Eve would gather her things and so would Cody, who was quick to disappearing. Eve pulled the books into her bag and made her way toward her locker.

It was just as she was going to her locker; she would be in for a little surprise. Alex Riley was leaning right against her locker. She froze for a moment. A week or two ago she just gave him an ultimatum. It was either her or Naomi. Could he have come here to tell her that he has picked Naomi? It wasn't something she wanted to hear. Chills ran up and down her body as she continued walking toward him. She hadn't been this nervous in a while. Alex turned over, concern written in his eyes but wore a nervous smile.

He went on to speak first. "I saw Nikki outside and she told me that I could find you by your locker. I guess I'm lucky to get you right as your own your way."

"Alex –"

Though she wanted to speak first, Alex didn't give her that opportunity. He had something to say. It was on his chest for weeks. "Eve, let me talk first." They both crept closer to one another. "I have to apologize first. I think I may have played with your feelings. I knew I should not have let Naomi back in my life. It was a huge mistake. I think having her around gave you another idea and I'm sorry."

"Well, when she did show up I did get jealous. I wondered what she was doing here in the first place."

He looked down for a moment. "Letting her back was a big mistake but it also made me realize something. I learned that she was nothing more than a memory of my past. I don't have any sort of feelings for her. At one point I did. At one point, I may have even loved her but my feelings have changed. There's only one girl that has my heart and do you know who it is?" There was a moment of silence before he grasped her hand and said "you."

"You want to be with me?"

"I think I always wanted to be with you, that's if the chance is still there. Will you give me a second chance Eve? I promise I won't be messing this one up."

Her heartbeat was going insane. She could feel her heart almost ripping through her chest. She looked into his clear eyes and gave him the response he was looking for. "Yes. I want to be with you. I want nothing more but to be with you."

Neither one hesitated to seal the deal. Their lips met one another for the first time. The feeling rushed through her body. That's when you know something like that is real. This isn't a sham – it's all real. She was really kissing Alex Riley.

There was just one person who didn't approve of this and he was watching from down the hall. While two hearts were connecting, his was shattering. Cody Rhodes was a man who was falling apart. The image would be etched in his mind for a while. The girl of his dreams was slipping away. Slipping right out of his grasp and she may never come back.

He quickly ended the suffering and turned away, leaning against the wall. What did he do to deserve this? The image of the kiss those two were sharing was haunting his mind. After a few moments, he gathered himself together and began down the hallway. The empty feeling filled his body. As he continued down the hall, he pulled out his cellphone and decided to end his meeting with Eve before she decided to do so.

* * *

"I will be waiting for you in the parking lot. I can't wait to see you."

Ted ended the phone call with Maryse, who was a few minutes away from the school parking lot. After weeks, MaryseOuellet was finally returning to Beverly Hills after a few weeks to recover from the personal issues she was handling. What was meant to be a week turned into three but she was ready to come back. Ted was beyond ready for her to come back. Phone calls and text messages could only last a couple so long. He really missed her.

Since this whole ordeal, their relationship had certainly strengthened. Even with the distance, they both learn how to appreciate everything including one another. They both learned that a life without the other is difficult. They needed one another.

While he was sitting behind his car, he could see the convertible that just pulled in. The silver compact vehicle parked right in front of the school and soon the blonde came out of the vehicle. The wind whipped her hair around a little but she looked extremely gorgeous. The beautiful floral designed dress she was wearing looked stunning on her which she paired white wedges with. As soon as she came out of the vehicle, her eyes met with Ted who was waiting by the car.

In a rush of fury, she ran over to him – though she almost tripped – but managed to find her way into Ted's arms. The two quickly embraced. Ted even picked her up, spinning her in the air. She giggled away and once she was placed back down onto earth, the two shared a kiss.

Maryse could stay in this position forever. Once they pulled away, Ted looked into her eyes and asked, "Did you miss me?"

She retaliated with the same question. "The real question is did you miss me?"

"Yeah, I really missed you. Don't leave again but if you have to leave, you better take me with you." He kindly joked as the two took a seat on the hood of his car. "So are you feeling better?"

"A lot better. The trip was a really good idea. I got my mind off of things. I managed to focus on what was important. I talked to some people and my mom was there with me. My mom and I really got better too. She really helped. But I'm happy to be back where I belong. I can't even explain how much I missed you." Maryse's hand crept over, covering Ted's. "I thought about you every day."

"Me too."

She wore a beautiful smile. It was an amazing feeling to be back in Beverly Hills. This was her home and everyone who was important was right here. She didn't want to leave again.

"Tell me more about the trip. What did you do?"

Even though he asked the question, he would not be listening for an answer. Maryse was rambling on but another conversation had caught his attention. He heard two voices coming toward him. One belonged to Zack Ryder and the other to Mike Mizazin. Mike's car was parked directly next to Ted's and while Maryse was listening, he couldn't help but overhead the conversation the other two were sharing.

"Bro! How did you wreck your car like that?" said the Long Island native, Zack Ryder. He was shocked that Mike would have a car that has scratches on it. "Let me guess – you're just going to get a new one and that's it."

Mike rolled his eyes. Zack was really annoying. "I just got into a little accident when I was driving home from a college party a few weeks ago. No big deal."

That's when everything came back to Ted. Slowly but surely, he would learn who was the one who nearly killed him and Maryse that night.

_A lot of things were going on in her mind. Her life, her past, her present and her future – everyday things like these would roam her mind, like any ordinary human being. Before she could say anything, the car behind them began to flash it's high beams. She looked back for a moment, finding the car behind them was oddly too close to them, "That car has it's high beams on and that can blind you. Not to mention, he's pretty close to us. Someone needs to tell this guy to back off."_

_"I'm already going over the speed limit. I'll just let him pass," with the window open, Ted made a gesture to allow the driver to pass by but it wasn't quiet working, "I don't get it. He doesn't want pass so what does he want?"_

_Fear captivated her body and only bad thoughts emerged over the individual trailing them. As she turned around, she couldn't make around a face or anything. It was too bright. The car was only getting closer and closer. As Ted was approaching a turn, he had to slow down but that wasn't stopping the automobile behind them. Suddenly, the pair were rear-ended by the driver._

_It had taken them by surprise. Ted's body bounced against the wheel, inflicting some pain onto his abdomen. Still driving, he focused his attention onto Maryse and her condition, "Are you okay? I don't understand what the hell this guy is doing," in a fit of panic, Ted looked back and couldn't make anything out. The only option was to speed up, "I got to speed up and lose him quick."_

_Maryse had struck her head against the roof of the car but was fine, "Ted, just pull over and let him past."_

_Another sharp bump into the rear sending the shockwaves jolting through their body. Ted didn't just want to pull over. They could still ram them off the road. For a moment, he looked at Maryse, "just buckle up and everything is going to be okay. Buckle up!"_

_In seconds she had placed the seatbelt on and looked at Ted. There was something in his expression that told her that everything was going to be okay. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt them._

_Ted tried his best to speed up but it wasn't working. The car slammed again and again. Fear trickled down Maryse's spine, clutching onto the handle bars that were provided in the car. The car was soon moving over, scratching against the side of their car. Eventually, it had pulled up but nothing could be seen. The windows were tinted. The car beside continued to slam into their car. Ted wanted to fight back. He quickly sent a bump back but wasn't enough. Maryse's car was smaller than the other drivers._

_"You maniac! Stop it! Leave us alone!" The screech of her scream didn't scare off the driver but only seem to have made him madder._

_"What the -?" Ted paused for a moment and feared that he was soon going to lose control of the vehicle. The car continued it wreckage and he attention was caught when he saw a construction site. The car continued to push the vehicle in the opposite direction and there wasn't much Ted could do, "come on," he tried and tried to move past but he couldn't._

_Maryse looked forward for a moment, catching a glimpse of the construction site and of Ted. She didn't say a word, even after the car went barreling into the construction site. Ted couldn't see anything and was losing control of the vehicle. The other car had stopped while theirs went crashing into construction materials. Soon, they felt the car take a deep incline. It was then when Maryse released a scream of fear as the car turned over, flipping down the cliff. The noises filled the wooded area as the car took pieces of the woods with it. The two could only feel everything spinning around and around. The car eventually came to a halting stop, landing on a lower road._

Eventually, Maryse caught on and noticed that Ted wasn't paying attention to her or the story she had to tell Ted. He was expressing anger as he slowly began to realize something. The whole mystery over who was driving the vehicle that made them get into the accident was standing right there, acting like everything was okay. He had been under his nose all this time and hadn't noticed it.

"Ted, are you listening? What's the matter?" asked his girlfriend and he wasn't getting a response. Ted simply got onto his feet and came up toward Mike, who was still in a conversation with Zack.

Mike was even surprised to find Ted coming up to him. Mike looked over very surprised so he had to ask him. "What do you want?"

"Cut the bullshit Mike. It was you. You were the one who was driving the car that made my car crash. You nearly killed both me and Maryse. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Though it was him, Mike was going to do everything in his power to make Ted look like he was crazy. He knew what he did but was not going to get pinned for it. "Listen man, I don't know what the hell you are talking about. I was not driving the car that rammed you guys off the road. Why the hell would I want to hurt you guys?"

"I can come up with a couple of reasons." His knuckles were clutching tighter and tighter.

The blonde decided to step in. This was going to escalate. Things would get physical and she was going to do whatever it takes for that not to happen. "Ted, he didn't do anything. Relax."

"Yeah, Maryse – tell your little boyfriend to calm down before I have to hurt him."

At any second, Ted DiBiase was going to go off on Mike. He didn't care. He knew exactly what he did and he wasn't going to get away with it. "You did do it. You had so many reasons to do something so stupid. Maryse broke up with you and she came back to me. That is probably killing you. You lost her to me and this was your sick idea of revenge."

The French Canadian did not want to believe anything Ted was saying but it was making sense. The scratches on Mike's car and his hidden jealous agenda – the pieces of the puzzle were adding up and it all led to Mike.

"Admit it." Said Ted, in a sternly manner. "It was you."

With all the evidence against Mr. Mizazin, he would continue to deny. He didn't say anything but turned his back toward Maryse and Ted. It was the end for Ted and his patience. His fist was already clenched and needed to let out his fury. Maryse knew this wasn't going to end well. Ted came forward, twisting Mike's body back to him and laid a powerful blow to the student. The thump sent Mike down like a ton of bricks.

Ted wasn't done. He climbed over Mike's body and began giving him blow after blow. Zack watched in despair and Maryse began to cry out, "Ted! Stop! Ted, get off of him now!"

She didn't approach the two, fearing for herself. When Ted is angry, he doesn't care for anything else. Zack tried to get in there but Ted pushed him away. Ted continued unleashing his fury against Mike. Blood appear from Mike's face, spewing from his nose and cuts across his face. He was defenseless.

"Ted, you've done enough – get off of him!" Even with her plea for help, nothing was helping. Ted was only growing more upset with each punch and Mike was only getting more and more hurt.

"You bastard," he released a cry of emotion out, in between punches. "You nearly killed us both. Now I'm going to make you see what it feels like to almost lose your life."

"TED! Stop right now!" Her cries for help were not helping as the crowds of students appeared to watch the show.

In the nick of time, Cody and Evan had appeared. Seeing the conflict unfold, the two pulled Ted away from Mike. Once Ted was off, they all got to the damage Ted had inflicted onto the student. Zack aided his friend. Mike was a total mess – a bloody mess. The students gazed over at Ted, fear written in their eyes. None of them wanted to get on Ted's bad side.

"What the hell is wrong with you dude?" asked Cody, in a state of shock.

Before he could answer the question, Principal Stephanie McMahonarrived and grew shocked at what she was staring at. "What the –" She looked over at Mike than up to Ted who was being held back. "Someone call an ambulance! Ted, get into my office now!" A student nearby took out his cell phone and dialed 911.

As for Ted, Maryse grabbed a hold of him and started directing him toward the school. His hands were covered in blood and she only worried what this could possibly due to his life.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm back! Finally, My writer's block is slowly disappearing.  
I'm very excited with my plans to end this story.  
About 8 chapters remain! It may change depending on what I decide to do.  
Please Review! :)

_Next chapter - The Countdown to Prom.  
_


	47. 72 Hours

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty Seven - 72 Hours_

Here it comes! Senior year is slowly beginning to dwindle down and heading into the final stretch. Graduation was a mere 3 weeks away while the biggest event of the year – Prom – was only 72 hours away for the seniors of West Beverly High. The exhilaration was in the air and anticipation was killing many of the students who spent the whole year looking forward to this monumental event.

The school's most popular girl – Maryse Ouellet – happened to be one of those students looking forward to the triumph event. It certainly had nothing to do with her nomination for Prom Queen. Not even a little… well, perhaps a little bit.

There were four nominees for prom queen including herself and they were Layla El, Eve Torres and Rosa Mendes. As for Prom King, the nominees were Cody Rhodes, Wade Barrett, David Otunga and Ted DiBiase.

She was certainly a shoe-in to win the crown this year. Though, she just does not want to see Rosa or Layla take the crown. She would not mind Eve taking the crown just as long as it was not on the head of Layla or Rosa.

And would you look at that? Speaking of the devil, just as Maryse was turning her head Layla was making her way down the hall and of course she was wearing her signature smirk. As her straight hair bounced into the air with every step she made, Maryse was expecting this interaction not to go to smoothly.

"Hello there my fellow nominee!" beamed the British beauty. Due to Maryse's facial expression, Layla knew she was not welcomed and decided to make the best out of this icky situation. "Are you like me, waiting anxious to see who is going to win prom queen tomorrow? I mean we already know who is going to win. I am just so anxious to finally get the crown on my head and your just as anxious to see it on me too. Trust me Maryse, you're not the only one."

"I am more anxious to take you to the nearest mirror so you can what you are wearing and do something about it," joked Maryse but it allowed Layla to roll her eyes. "How can you be so cocky – I mean, confident?"

"Well, where should I begin? I am well liked around here, I'm gorgeous, I am a really nice person, again I am gorgeous…"

"Don't forget that you're a liar as well."

Layla offered a smug look. "Now when I win, I surely hope Ted wins as well so him and I can have that special little prom king and queen dance. I'm sure Ted would enjoy that."

Ted DiBiase was in the midst of enjoying his suspension from school after a horrible altercation with Mike two weeks ago. Ted was suspended and was forced to stay at home. The problems did not just end there for Ted. Mike made the decision to press charges against Ted for his actions but that just a few days ago, the charges were dropped. Maryse did not know why Mike did that but it limited the punishment Ted would have to endure. It possibly even meant jail time for the student. Ted was scheduled to return to school today but she had not seen him yet.

Maryse was greatly disappointed in Ted following the incident. Though she does believe that Mike was the one who rammed them off the road that one evening, she felt that Ted's actions were not right. They could have done something else about it. It did not have to involve a physical altercation.

But despite how she felt, she still cared deeply about him and the situation did show her something about Ted. That he cares just as much as she does about her. She was willingly to let go of this situation and move on with their lives.

"If Ted wants to dance with a elephant, he can simply go to the zoo," said Maryse to a not so amused Layla. "Now if you could so kindly get out of my way, I have much better things to do stand here and endure the pain of listening and looking at to you."

And just like that, Maryse walked by Layla and into the opposite direction. Just as she finished her encounter with her, she had to prepare for the encounter she was about to have with someone she was just thinking about.

Neatly dressed in a orange plaid shirt, dark jeans and brown boots, Ted was finally back at West Beverly after a two week hiatus. He smiled directly at Maryse who in return let out a small smile. Deep down inside, she was really happy to see him. Their communication over the past two weeks was quite limited due to his situation. A part was still disappointed but she was not going to allow this to ruin her relationship she tried so hard to put together in the first place. Plus, it was senior year. Prom and graduation were on their way and she wanted to enjoy it with someone.

He came closer and closer as the hallways began to empty out and soon was right before her feet. "Surprised to see me?"

"A bit," she managed to spit out.

He had to get it off his shoulders. This was the perfect moment.

"Before we say anything else, I have to tell you something so I could get this off my chest already. I have to apologize for what happened with Mike. The whole fight – it was stupid. What I did was completely and utterly stupid. If I could go back, I would have not done it. I really messed up and I just hope you could find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me for what I did."

"Ted," she muttered. "I am not mad at you or anything. Sure, what you did was stupid but I am not letting this get in the way of our relationship. You and I have worked way to hard to keep this relationship going and I am not going to just throw it away like this. I know in the end, you are not that kind of person who just gets into fights. It is much different than that. I know the real Ted and he is standing right in front of me."

Her sweet calming words certainly helped him feel accepted by her once again. "So does that mean –"

"Yes, it means that I forgive you."

Once he got the okay from her, he swooped right in and planted his lips against hers. Their first kiss in quiet some time, the couple felt extremely satisfied to be with one another. As their kiss had concluded, the pair began to walk down the hallway, hand in hand of course as Maryse decided to fill him in on a few things.

"You've missed a few things while you were gone."

"You don't say? Are you going to fill me in on the details?"

"Well first is first – yours truly has been nominated for prom queen and you have been nominated for prom king. I have also decided on a dress and it is currently being shipped over here from Paris. Estimated time of arrival: between 7am and 7pm tomorrow. Your tuxedo has been purchased and resting comfortably at my home – though I much prefer to see you without anything on."

Ted said back, "As do I want to see you out of the dress."

* * *

Writing this valedictorian speech was pretty difficult. Evan Bourne was selected by the school to be this year's valedictorian. Evan had worked extremely hard to get where he was.

When he was told that he was going to be the valedictorian, he was speechless. Evan had come so far in both his academic life and personal life to come to this moment. Off all the three hundred students in this year's senior class, he was the one with the highest grade point average therefore awarding him with the title. Evan had just barely defeated his friend Tiffany Terrell who was a mere small percentage away from taking the title.

It was the speech that was giving him a hard time. What could you say? How could you some up your time at West Beverly? Words cannot describe what he has been through or what he wants to wish upon the class of 2012. Couldn't he just accept the award and not say anything?

As Evan sat in the school café, typing up his speech, Kelly was coming on over to him. Casually dressed in royal blue shorts and a white cami, she pulled the seat up next to him and glanced over at the screen.

"When I first saw you writing this thing, you had 4 words and now you have 13? Someone is making great progress."

"Do not remind me," said Evan sternly. "Is there anyway possible that I can just take the title and not say the speech? Or maybe I will take the title and Tiffany can do the speech after all she did get second place."

"Evan, you have got to do it and you can do it. You just really have to think – but do not think with your brain but think with your heart."

"Your right."

Kelly smiled. "I know writing this is hard but if you listen to your heart, I am sure you will find the right words to put onto paper. After all you are valedictorian."

Honestly, Evan could not have asked for a better friend. Kelly was always the one who lifted his spirit when he was down and almost about to give up. She was just the person to give him that courage for him to keep on going. It made him wonder why he let her go after the whole ordeal occurred with Cody. She was willing to continue but he was not. If he had not said no, he could be with her right now.

At that point of his life, that is what he wanted and at this point he wants something else. He wanted another chance with her – just another chance to make everything right. Evan had heard that Kelly still has yet a date for prom so maybe that could be the chance for Evan to make everything right? He had to take this chance.

"So besides talking about my stupid speech, are you excited for prom?"

Prom – that is all everyone was talking about and Kelly was excited but was sick of everyone constantly talking about it. It partially had to do with the fact that no one had asked her yet and she was so far going by herself. A few guys have asked her but none of them were someone she would want to share the special night with so as of now, she is just going with all of her friends.

"I am excited but then I am not. It mainly has to do with the fact that I don't have a date for this night. I mean, a few guys have asked me but I don't really want to go with them. I rather go by myself than with some guy who is only interested in having sex with me on prom night. I want something more."

Then that is when Evan did something he never expected he would do, "Why don't you and I go?"

Kelly's neck snapped back along with her head as she faced Evan, "We should go together?"

"Yeah why not? I have no one. Plus, no matter where you and I go, we always have a blast. Remember that time we went to that literature festival? Something that was so boring but when we were together we could not stop laughing," admitted Evan. "So how about it?"

Well, she didn't have anyone yet and Evan is a good guy. It's not like she is going to have a horrible time. Evan always knew how to put a smile on her face. Looking back up at him, she smiled sweetly and said, "Oh why not!"

"Great we're.."

"Prom dates," Kelly added the final words to complete Evan's sentence.

* * *

Placing her phone back down to her side, Eve slowly began to take in the news she had just received. Her stomach was in knots. With her free hand, she pulled back her hair and then proceeded to put her phone back into her purse as she remained in the courtyard. She managed to find a free seat and decided to take it.

As the students of West Beverly walked passed the girl in the purple and red floral sundress, they did not notice the frown that was present on her face. Moments ago she was on the phone with Alex Riley where he told her some bad news. Alex was scheduled to attend prom with Eve, his new girlfriend but due to a family emergency, he has to fly out to Houston. With this, Eve has been left dateless for the big spectacular of senior year.

Eve had it all planned out. She had found the perfect dress to wear to the occasion with the perfect shoes and accessories to go along with it. Everything was ready to go but apparently it was not meant to be. Alex made the call as he was at the airport, breaking Eve's little heart.

This had to be the worst thing to happen to her right now. Everyone was ready to go for prom and now this had to come up. This shattered her prom dreams into pieces. Everyone was going to have a date – except for her.

A fellow classmate and friend of Eve's was walking right by and he couldn't help but notice the upset look Eve was currently wearing. As her friend, he made it his priority to see if she was okay.

"Eve, is everything alright?"

Eve wore a fake smile, "everything couldn't be better, Cody."

Cody knew she was lying, "You're lying. I know your lying. Eve, you and I have dated for 7 months and I know when your not alright. What is going on?"

He knew her way too well. Eve was not going to get by Cody without really telling him what had happened. She looked over at him and gave into his demands, "Well, to keep a long story short, Alex was supposed to be my prom date but he just called me saying he has a family emergency and has to fly out to Texas. So where does that leave me? Lonely and dateless for prom which is in 3 days!"

Cody honestly did feel bad for her. The feeling she must be having must really suck.

But then, he honestly thought about it for a second. _Eve is dateless for prom and so am I? What does this mean? This is your chance! Ask her!_

Cody had the perfect opportunity where he can finally win Eve back and what better of a place to do it than prom? Cody has been itching to get back together with Eve for months now and this could be his chance. He knows that deep down inside Eve still loves him and they are meant to be together. She is not supposed to be with Alex. It was one of those times where you have to take a risk and see what happens.

"You know, I have an idea but…"

"But what? At this point, I am open to any idea."

_Here goes nothing. _"Well, your not the only one who is still dateless. I have no date so maybe you and I should go to prom together – you know, just as friends," there was some silence after he made the proposal and that is when he started to think that this was a bad idea. Who knows what Eve could be thinking now, "you know what? Never mind. It's a bad idea."

Eve glanced over at him, putting her hand over his as he stopped fidgeting around where she calmly said, "Cody, that is a great idea. I would love to go to prom with you."

His heart felt like it was melting at this point. Did Eve just say she would love to go to prom with him? "Really?"

"Yes – I would love to go with you. I am sure that we are going to have a lot of fun," said Eve, as she and Cody started to look into one another's eyes. There was a moment where they just enjoyed one another's company. Cody's heart was beating faster and faster as the moment when on but Eve would soon end it, "well, I have got to go. I am actually off to pick up my dress."

"I have to say that I am really looking forward to Friday now."

"So am I, prom date," she leaned in and gave him a hug. She pulled away from him and got back up onto her feet. "I will see you later."

Eve quickly disappeared and once the cost is clear, Cody stood up and did a quick little victory dance. Eve and him were actually going to prom together. All he kept thinking about was how lucky he was right now.

* * *

"I am really looking forward to the day I no longer have to go to another gym class," said an annoyed Maryse as she was placing on her gym uniform. "And this ugly gym uniforms too – hasn't West Bev heard about couture?"

"I believe those new couture styled gym uniforms are coming in next week," Kelly responded to the comment with a sarcastic remark of her own. "Has Mrs. Klein even taken your petition to change the gym uniform seriously?"

She scowled, "she shot it down after I insisted that we add rhinestones to the letters on our shirts."

"Mine is headed straight for the trash come one week from now," added in Nikki Bella who had just shut her locker doors.

"I think burning it would be a lot more appropriate."

"Well, I don't think we'll be going that far," said Nikki as she decided to change the subject for the time being. "But can you believe it that we will be leaving in two weeks? You know what that means? No more lockers."

"No more teachers – we'll just have professors," added Kelly.

"No more having to look at Mrs. Guerrero hideous haircut or even better, no more of hearing Layla's annoying little voice," with all the girls saying what was on their mind, Maryse had to add. "And those black boots that she wears every Friday because she knows I wear mine and she wants to look better than me.

"Yeah –" Kelly only responded with a short remark before going on, "that exactly what I am going to miss too."

As the girls shared a laugh, Brie Bella was making her way through the locker room. A sly smile came on as she passed by the three ladies, "hello ladies – excited for yet another sweat full gym class?"

"Tell that to Beth – the girl sweats literally a gallon of sweat in glass. That is not normal nor sanitary."

Brie Bella than focused her attention onto her sister, "so I heard your going to Prom with Dolph? I could not be happier for you. I, on the other hand, will be going alone." Both Kelly and Maryse frowned but Nikki did not even move a muscle.

"That's so unfortunate," spoke a sarcastic Nikki. "I mean, that must be so sad. You, all by yourself at prom – it must be pretty embarrassing."

"Nikki, come on," alerted Kelly as she listened in on the conversation and was not too fond on the direction it was heading in. Nikki was giving off a little snotty attitude and Kelly decided to change up the conversation. "Maybe someone will ask you by Friday."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Or maybe not."

Brie simply brushed it off. Little did Nikki know that Brie was planning something and that soon, her picture perfect life would cease to exist. "Well, I'm going to go change – see out there."

As her sister disappeared, Nikki let out an eye roll and returned to her business of tying her shoes, "thank god she is gone. I didn't think we would get rid of her. The girl is like a leech – she sticks right onto you."

"Nikki – I don't want this to come off the wrong way but that was kind of harsh. That was even harsh for me and trust me, being harsh is what I do. I made AJ cry buy saying her top has ugly," Maryse tried to convince her what she was doing was wrong until Kelly got in.

"Basically what Maryse is trying to say is, don't you think your being a little hard on your sister?" Nikki was giving her that look but before she could say anything, Kelly began once again. "I know what she has done to you but maybe this could be the chance to bury the hatchet between the two of you. After all, you are sisters."

"And sisters are really important."

Kelly nodded to Maryse's response and said, "Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been if I never found out I had a sister and I know it wouldn't be good. I am so happy to have Torrie in my life."

Nikki appreciated the thoughts but she was handling this on her own way. They don't know what Brie has really done and cannot really understand it all. "I do appreciate what you are trying to say but Brie and I – our relationship – it's never going to be repaired. Her and I are a done deal and that's it. I don't trust her. I know what she is trying to do."

"What is she trying to do?" asked the French Canadian.

"Trying to ruin my life here. I came back to Beverly Hills for a reason – to get away from her and now she comes on back and I did give her a chance. I just know that something is up. I know her – she is my sister and she is nothing but trouble," she didn't want to talk about it anymore and quickly ended the conversation. "I'll meet the two of you outside."

Nikki quickly disappeared and left Maryse and Kelly by themselves.

"Let's just not talk to her about it," said Kelly. "I think it is better that way. It only upsets her."

And with that, Maryse and Kelly shut the lockers and were on their way. Brie suddenly appeared from the other set of lockers. With a fire in her eyes, she knew that Nikki would come down like a ton of bricks.

* * *

"So you are actually going to do it?"

Eve and Tiffany were in the middle of a pretty big discussion. It was about Tiffany's relationship. Where was it going? They had been together for a couple of months and she wanted to know what was going on and where they would be going? She decided to confide with her friend Eve.

"I want to do it. You know, Jack – he's a sweet guy and I care about him a lot and if there is somewhere I am going to share this moment with, I want it to be with him. I feel like it will be the right thing to do."

If one has not caught on, Tiffany is discussing having her first time with Jack. Yes, her first time ever. That first time. After a lot of thought, she thought this would be a good time to do this and she was happy with this decision.

It just felt like everything was right and the stars were aligning for this moment. After the incident with Katie, it got her to do a lot of thinking and this is where it lead her. It was time to take this relationship to the next level. She wanted to let Jack know that she wants to go on this journey with him and this is the perfect way to do it.

"I think your smart in waiting for the right person. Not a lot of people do it and I think it's cute that you want to lose it to Jack," Eve found her friend's confession to be sweet. When a couple takes that step together, it is beneficially to the both of them. This is how a relationship should form.

"How was your first time?"

Eve was not expecting that question and she had never told anyone who she had her first time with. Till this day, it reminds a secret. Eve decided she was not going to mention it and said, "I did not get chance to share it with the right person – maybe Alex is but I don't know."

"I'm sure you'll find a person you care about to have this with."

Too bad she had already done it with the right person she wanted to lose it to but she could not reveal it. It would just create problems but for now she was going to be happy for her good friend and enjoy her last days as a senior.

* * *

As Nikki would leave her chemistry class, she would normally head down the hall to drop off book into her locker but there was going to be a slight little detour in that journey. The moment she pulled out of her class, she could see two familiar faces speaking and she was not to fond over this all. As she approached the two, she knew she would have a war of words.

"Dolph, Brie – shocking to see the two of you together," a sarcastic Nikki had said. "Every time I turn my back, you manage to latch yourself onto someone I know."

Brie gave off a cold vibe and tilted her head down for a moment before speaking in a low tone, "I'm sorry Nikki. I just ran into Dolph in the hallway and was explaining to him how I was going alone to prom."

"I'm sure the two of you were just talking – that's how it all started with Jake and Robbie. Brie, can't you just leave Dolph and I alone? Don't you have other friends that you have to latch onto someone's boyfriend – your sister's actually?"

That was pretty cruel. Dolph scowled at Nikki's behavior. He had never seen this side to her and he did not like the way she was acting. Her attitude was beyond cruel and disrespectful. He had to step in and say something before Brie would get more hurt.

Dolph stepped in between the two ladies and said, "Nikki, relax. I was just talking to the Brie. Why are you going crazy?"

"It's because –"

And he stopped her dead in her tracks, "No. You should apologize to her for accusing her of something she was not doing. Brie is just trying to be a friend to me. It is all she wants but yet you are making this way to difficult for her. Could you please apologize to her for it?"

Brie had to step in. She even put a mellow dramatic tone for what she was trying to say, "since I am going to prom dateless – I would like to at least find a group of friends who are willing to accept me. I think it is best if I leave."

She smirked and agreed, "I could not think of a better idea to do. Off you go Brie."

Brie walked away with her head down and Nikki felt victorious over the situation. Brie was gone. Dolph however was still there and he was not at all happy over this situation.

"Are you losing it Nikki? You're beginning to turn into one of those psycho girlfriends who are afraid of everything. You need to relax. Brie and I are just friends and I don't see why you are acting all crazy. It's unnecessary."

"I don't trust her."

"But try trusting me," Dolph said. "I am going to let this pass for now but if this comes up again, I don't know what I am going to do Nikki. Honestly, you turn into such an ugly person."

With his final words, he parted and left Nikki wondering if she was allowing her hatred for Brie to get involved with one too many things. Maybe it was time for her to just left the past be the past but that was too damn difficult.

* * *

**A/N: **Surprise! I'm back...well, sort of. I guess I owe a little explanation for this. I have had quiet a year. Through the year, I lost a lot of touch with writing and I lost that drive I had. I feel like I still do not have that drive left but what I want to do is finish this story! It is one of my most popular stories and I enjoy writing it the most. This story is like my baby. I started it and I will finish it. I have 6 out of 8 other chapters written out - I just want to go through them and make sure everything is good and set to go. I'll post the next chapter in a few days after putting it together. I am sorry to everyone for just disappearing. I think when I finish this story, I may be done with FF for a while but I may always come back.

I made a lot of edits to the ending of this story and I am happy with the result. I hope you guys are prepared because it is going to be quiet the wild ride in the last 8 chapters. Thanks for reading!

_Next Chapter - It's the night many have been waiting for - Prom night!_


	48. Forever Young

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty Eight - Forever Young_

This is it.

The day has finally arrived.

They have waited for this moment since they were freshmen walking through the doors of high school for the very first time and how time flies by, right? The day has come and the eagerness and exhilaration was currently in the air. It was time for the night of their lives.

The whole gang – Maryse, Eve, Cody, Ted, Jack, Tiffany, Evan, Nikki, Dolph and Kelly – were currently at Eve's home where they had all gathered to take photographs and await for their limo to arrive to escort them to prom. The girls were looking ever so dazzling and the boys were looking extremely handsome in their tuxedos.

As the group posed for photographs, they each had the opportunity to do their couples shot outside Eve's home. The view was amazing from Eve's home as you could see the city at it's finest. Dolph and Nikki were up first. Nikki was dressed in an elegant one strapped deep purple gown with embellished sequins along the neckline, the strap and backline. She matched the gown with diamond stud earrings, silver strapped heels and her hair straightened out. Dolph complimented Nikki with his slicked backed hair and black tuxedo with matching tie and vest.

As Dolph and Nikki got into their positions, Dolph couldn't help but say something. "As great as you look in that dress, I cannot wait to get you out of it."

Nikki smirked, "Looks like I win my bet with Kelly now."

"What bet?"

"Well, when we were getting ready I bet Kelly that you would say that exact line before we even got to prom itself. I have just made myself twenty dollars richer, thanks to you of course."

Dolph simply shrugged his shoulders. The couple soon finished up their photo op and the next couple up was Evan and Kelly. The blonde was decked out in a pink strapless gown that was beaded along the body while the gown came down in a few sets of ruffles that made the dress unique. Her hair was pushed all onto one side in a set of curls that unveiled the diamond spiral earrings she was wearing. To top it all off, Kelly wore glittery-strapped heels and a diamond necklace her mother gave to her for her birthday earlier this year. Just like Dolph, Evan matched Kelly's ensemble with a pink tie and vest.

The couple got into their positions and Evan could not believe how beautiful Kelly was looking this evening. She was clearly the most beautiful girl in this entire room and would probably be at the prom as well.

"I usually hate this awkward prom poses we have to make. It always seems so overacted but for some reason I kinda of like it. Am I weird?" questioned the glowing blonde.

Evan responded to her statement. "I don't think so. I think you just looking absolutely stunning."

He would be full of compliments for this evening but he meant those very words. Kelly was looking extremely breathtaking this evening. It made him begin to wonder why he ever let her go in the first place.

Evan and Kelly walked off and up came the future prom queen; well at least she thinks she already won and Ted to take their shots. Maryse was looking scorching hot. Her goal with her dress was to make heads turn and she had to think of the perfect dress to match the crown she would be wearing later that evening. She was dressed in a one-strapped black gown that featured a sparkling strap and cut out along the side. The dress had a long slit that went up to Maryse's thigh that added to her whole red carpet feel. She accessorized with a diamond bracelet and dangling diamond earrings that were concealed by her long wavy blonde hair. She stood in front of Ted in her silver sandals while Ted kept his look simple in a black tuxedo.

"My tonight, you will not be my only accessory," said Maryse. "I have my hair done in a specific way so that crown will fill perfectly in this very spot."

"Well, even if you don't win you'll still be a queen in my eyes."

"Aw, you are so sweet Ted but nice try – I am more than determined to win that crown and keep Layla as far away from ever holding it."

If only she could stop talking about prom, Ted could tell her some news that he has for her. He isn't particularly sure if she was going to like it but it had to be said. His future was riding on it so maybe after prom and after she wins that stupid crown, he could tell her. He just hopes that she will be supportive.

The future king and queen stepped off and on came Tiffany and Jack. Tiffany was dressed in a red halter-top gown that was embellished with beads along the neckline as well as down around her back, curiosity of the open back feature of the dress. She wore tiny diamond hoop earrings that were concealed by her half up, half down blonde hairstyle. She finished the look with red open toe pumps. Jack casually matched Tiffany with his tuxedo.

"Can you believe we are actually going to our prom right now? I can't even for one moment think about how you and I are going together and I want to make a promise to you," announced Tiffany.

"And what would that be?"

"To make this one unforgettable evening," Tiffany said just as the pair was taking their first shots. Tiffany had an extra surprise for Jack to make this evening very memorable and hoped that everything would go nice and smoothly. As soon as they were finished, the finale couple was set to take their photos.

Cody was up at the proper position as Eve slowly made her way to meet him. He could not help but stare at the Latina. Eve was wearing a royal blue strapless gown that featured a sweetheart neckline, a beaded design that went down her body to the opening of the slit that rest by her thigh. She wore dangling earrings that had a diamond at the very tip, silver strapped heels and had her hair done in a wavy ponytail that rested onto her side. Cody matched with a blue tie and vest.

As she came up to him, Eve noticed Cody's speechless expression and commented on it, "Did you just see a ghost or something?"

"No, not at all. I was just really taken away," said Cody. "You look beautiful."

He could not take his eyes off the beautiful brunette. He had never seen her like this ever in his life. Cody had to be the luckiest man on this earth to have a prom date that was this gorgeous. Eve soon came forth and did the usual prom pose with her and could smell the scent of strawberries in her hair. It even distracted him from what was really occurring.

As the photo shoot had come to a close and Eve's parents left for a moment, Maryse pulled something out of the bag of clothes she had brought over. It wasn't one thing – it was two. Two bottles of champagne, which Eve quickly spotted and gasped.

"Maryse, my parents will kill me if they see any alcohol!" said the concerned Latina as the others joined in over her concern.

"Relax, they won't know. Plus, I have a little friend somewhere who switched the label that reads champagne and replaced it with sparkling cider so if your parents ask, we can just say that." Maryse always had a plan and to say she was a stupid girl was an understatement. "So let us get 10 glasses please because before we head off, we are going to make a toast.

Eve and Kelly grabbed the glasses from the cabinet and placed them onto the table. Ted and Dolph did the honors of opening the bottles and quickly began to pour away. The two bottles were just enough to fill each glass to the top. Each of them took a glass and looked over to one another.

"So everyone has one but should one of us say something before we take these down?" pondered the Latina, "a little toast before we head off."

Surprisingly, Evan decided to step up, "If you guys do not mind, I wouldn't mind being the one who gives the toast."

"Go for it," Dolph said as the other agreed with the decision.

"This one is going to be a lot easier than the speech I have to give in two weeks but here goes nothing," he took one moment to collect himself before he went on. "All I have to say is that I am incredibly happy to have met all of you and thanks for making these past few years pretty damn amazing. I think I speak for everybody that our time at West Bev would have been much different if we never met. So if everyone could so kindly put their glasses up, let us make a toast –"

Doing just as Evan had asked, everyone raised their glasses up awaited for his final words, "to a great four years filled with countless memories, to many more years together and to one last amazing night together."

As the glasses clinked together, the group of friends looked over at one another and smiled. Despite any issues that have occurred in the past, they were all friends and it would remain like that. They have developed such a strong bond that no one could forge. This group of friends does not come around much – they are one of a kind.

* * *

After a short limo ride, the gang had finally arrived at the venue. The venue – the St. George Hotel – located right in Hollywood was the best place to spend their enchanting prom night. The tables were all neatly decorated in an elegant, classy way while surrounding the dance floor, which would be full in the matter of moments. Some light music was playing – Rihanna's We Found Love was echoing through the ballroom as the students were making their way to their designated tables.

The gang was seated at a table right beside the dance floor, giving them easy access. They each sat according next to their prom dates as they awaited their principal Stephanie McMahon to come to the stage and make the usual announcement.

The tag line for the evening – "Forever Young" perfectly described what this evening was about.

The principal soon made her way to the stage. She glanced out onto the crowds of students and could not be proud enough that they made it this far. Stephanie took the microphone and began to address the crowd.

"Welcome everyone to the West Beverly High School senior prom," an applause and cheers followed her opening statement. "Tonight is a very special night for you all. It is a night to celebrate four years of hard work and dedication. The faculty and I are extremely proud of you and we are all sad that you'll only be West Beverly students for a little while longer but all of you will always be a part of our family. So, please raise your glass and no, your principal did not provide alcohol nor it is legal to do so. Let us toast to a wonderful night."

The glasses clinked together. The crowds of students began to cheer as Principal McMahon took the microphone one more time and said, "Now let's start tonight on the right foot – DJ, let us get some music rolling."

The DJ did as he was asked and began the night with some Flo Rida's Good Feeling to start the evening. As everyone else decided to head for the dance floor, Maryse did not. Maryse could see Layla staring at her right before her and decided to go and approach her before anything. Ted was not to far behind.

Layla was in a fiery red gown accompanied by Maryse's former friends – Alicia Fox in a cream-colored gown and Rosa Mendes in a bright yellow gown. It was just amusing how Maryse had begun with those two girls by her side and in the end; they ended up on Layla's side.

"Layla, dear!" beamed the French vixen, "Layla, you look fabulous as do you Alica and Rosa. Your ensemble is just missing one big accessory. Three brown paper bags to go over their absolutely atrocious faces."

Of course, she laughed while the other three did not seem to be to amuse by the 'compliment' from Maryse. Layla quickly reacted, "You will not be saying that when I have that crown resting on top of my head."

"You mean the paper bag?"

"And then you wonder why we don't want to be friends with you no more," Alicia inputted. "Rosa and I have had quiet the wonderful senior year without you having to ruin it. We've actually turned into better people."

"Better people?" Maryse chuckled as they looked on."

"Yes, better people," a stern Rosa answered.

"Well certainly not better looking – Your fashion sense has certainly token a turn for the worse. I see you have gone from high end to off the rack and who did your make up this evening? A clown?"

Rosa gasped, "I paid five hundred dollars to get my makeup done for tonight."

"Looks like a five year old did it with some finger paint."

Ted was certainly sick of this constant fighting between the girls as it was never going to end. The insults would keep on flying and nothing would really be done to end this all. He had to end this all. Ted grasped Maryse's hand and guided her away, "Let's go Maryse…"

Maryse gave into Ted but not with one last insult, "I'll see you three from the stage when I accept my crown…" as they parted off, Ted turned back to Maryse as she continued. "Cannot wait to see the looks on their faces when you and I win tonight."

"Can we just not talk about that and try to enjoy this night? I am annoyed with this whole prom queen business."

Maryse immediately knew something was wrong and had something to say, "honey, is there anything wrong? You see a little upset."

"Let's go and dance, please."

"Yeah, sometimes wrong. You hate dancing. You said it is for losers."

Ted was going to be honest and just tell her – but not the whole truth, "I just don't want to hear about this prom queen and king thing anymore. It is all you talk about and I just want to have a good time with my friends and you."

She had to admit it was pretty annoying. Constant talk over the prom queen and king shenanigans. Maryse rested her arms on his shoulders and said, "I'm sorry. Competition gets to me and gets in the way of what matters. Lets go and dance."

Maryse took a hold of his hand and smiled. Ted could not tell her the real truth and decided it was best to just hold it on for a little while longer even though the results may become harsher.

* * *

'On the Floor' was the appropriate song to be playing as everyone was dancing the evening away. Kelly and Evan certainly had enough dancing for the time being. Evan was holding onto her hand as they returned to their table for a quick pit stop to hydrate themselves again.

"I am going to run to the bathroom and grab some air," said Evan, who was in need of some fresh air. The dance floor was a hot mess.

"I am going to grab some fresh air too. I am going to meet you out front," said Kelly. The two made the agreement with a quick nod and went their separate ways for the moment. Kelly quickly made her exit from the ballroom with the extensive loud music. She could finally hear her thoughts once again. The automatic doors to the hotel had opened up. Kelly was greeted by the fresh air, which smacked her right in the chest.

"This feels absolutely amazing," she soon found a seat on a bench and took a seat.

This evening was going very well and they were only in about one hour. The night had so much in store for them. Kelly was having the time of her life. Evan's company had made the evening much better. This was making her wonder. Evan and her had such a long history.

How did she just throw that away like it was nothing? Yes, at a point she was in love with Cody but those feelings had disappeared quickly after. Those feelings for Evan had not disappeared. They were not as strong but they decided to make their return. Maybe she had never lost them and she was meant to be with Evan? Why had she not listened to her heart and came to Evan right away?

But the heart wants what the heart wants and it works in mysterious ways. Love certainly works in a way no one will ever understand. She just had to understand that she was meant to be with Evan and no one else.

Not to far from her, she could hear some noises. She turned her head and found to strangers walking right beside her. Kelly ultimately decided not to make any sort of eye contact with them to avoid confrontation but that did not work. One of them had something to say.

"Look at the blonde, dude – she seems like she has no date to the prom," said one of them.

"Let's just leave her alone," said the other one, who had an accent. Kelly identified it as English or Australian. Apparently, he was the peacekeeper of the two. "Don't we have other business to tend too?"

"Relax, I'm just trying to have some fun," the second figure was different from the other. He had little dreads and a few piercings. He was not the most appealing human being. "Looks like our little blonde friend is all alone. You know sweetie, we could keep you company if you'd like."

"Ew," responded the blonde in a repulsed tone. "No thank you."

"Leave her alone Truth."

"You know Justin, this could your ticket to solving all of your problems, you know that?" this 'Truth' character was not much of an appealing being as he got closer to Kelly. "Or I may just have her all too myself."

Kelly was now terrified. She looked right up at the man who was walking up to her. He was getting closer and closer but lucky for her someone had stopped her, "Truth, you need to stand back. You are not going to do anything to this girl. Leave her alone."

This mysterious character had come forth as a hero to Kelly and based on their conversation, she could only assume that the two were part of the gang with Truth trying to initiate Justin into the gang. She looked over at the two extremely worried before she finally had a hero come to her rescue.

"Hey! Back off!"

It was Evan. She could not be any happier as he came closer to the two strangers. Kelly watched and sighed. Justin seemed to respond in the proper manner but Truth did not. In fact, he thought this was the best opportunity to joke around.

"So I guess blondie over here does have a date for prom?" He chuckled at the sight of Evan, "I am dying to see what this kid can do to me."

"You better stay away from her or help me God, I will –"

"You'll what? Punch me? Or that is if you can reach –"

And just before he could finish the sentence, Evan launched a punch into Truth's face, which knocked him on the ground. Evan finally felt confidence he felt he deserved. Out of the group, he was always classified as the nerd, the dork or the shrimp of the group but after this, he proved something else. He proved that he was more than that.

Justin tended to Truth and managed to help him up. He decided it was the best to get out of there, "Let's go Truth."

As Truth held onto his jaw, he got up and scowled down at Evan. He was humiliated. He was humiliated by some high school kid. He kept the dirty scowl and managed to slip out, "You may have won now little man but you've started something I plan on finishing."

His final words left his mark on Kelly. The two soon disappeared into the night and Kelly came forward to Evan, embracing him. Evan accepted the embrace and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, Evan. That was really brave of you."

"I wasn't going to let anyone hurt you," he managed to throw her a smile. This was certainly the perfect moment to tell her something else but he wanted to wait. Though this moment was absolutely perfect, it was not perfect enough. He took a hold her of her hand and guided her back into the building.

"Let's go enjoy the rest of the night."

* * *

Tiffany Terrell was extra nervous that evening.

Prom night was a lot more to her than just an evening to spend with friends. There was a lot more to this evening. It would be extra special – that is if everything went just as the way she planned it. Things could go very sour but she only hoped for the best. Her friends, Eve and Kelly, were being as supportive as they could.

"I think tonight is going to go extremely well," said Eve, who was sitting with Tiffany and Kelly at their table. "It is also going to be super romantic."

"Is everything set up in the room?" asked the curious Kelly.

Tiffany nodded, "Not yet. I left everything upstairs. This is how the plan is going to go. I am going to hand him the note and key card at 10 and from there, I am going to go and set up. The note reads to meet me upstairs at 10:30 which is a little bit after they announce prom king and queen so hopefully, he'll come upstairs and everything should go just as planned."

Tonight was a special night but not just because it was prom but because she had plans on losing her virginity to Jack. Tiffany knew she loved Jack. There hasn't been a guy like him in her life and she wanted to show that to him by giving him her virginity. The evening was very carefully planned and she crossed her fingers everything was going to go well.

Maryse suddenly passed by and found the three girls giggling away and had to ask, "What are the three of you laughing at?"

Eve decided to be the one to tell Maryse, "tonight, Tiffany and Jack are gonna –"

Eve did not have to say anything else. Maryse knew exactly what was going to happen and could not be happier, "Oh my god, Tiffany! You're going to give him the key to your lock?" And in typical Maryse sense, she had to put it her own special way.

Tiffany simply chuckled, "yes, if you want to put it that way. Jack an I plan on –"

"Plan on doing what?"

The voice did not belong to any of the ladies but that of the one named Jack Swagger. The very man that they were just talking about but could not let him in on the big secret. All four girls remained tight lipped but someone had to answer the question and Maryse was going to be the one.

"That you guys plan on – um, running the L.A marathon in July."

"Really?" said a stumped Jack.

"Yeah –" she was utterly speechless and someone needed to save her.

Tiffany decided to jump onto this as she heard a song come on thru the speakers that she loved, "Jack, I love this song – can we please dance? Like now?!'

She did not give him much of a choice and pulled him onto the dance floor. Kelly and Eve gave Maryse a confused stare. She responded in typical Maryse manner, "Oh stop staring at me like that. I'd like to see what excuse you ladies would have pulled out of your asses."

Back on the dance floor, Adele's Make You Feel my Love was coming through the speakers as Jack and Tiffany were enjoying a slow dance. The way Jack would hold her by her hips, she felt so safe. Her head was resting on his chest as the music went on and on. This moment was just too perfect.

Jack looked down on her, "Tiff, it kind of looks like your going to fall asleep on my chest."

"It is just so comfortable," commented Tiffany. "I could stay here forever."

"Alright, if you plan on occupying my chest forever, I think I am going to have to start charging you rent. Staying on my chest is not exactly going be cheap," joked the blonde football player.

"You would charge your own girlfriend," she raised her head away from his chest and smirked. "How much are you going to charge me? And on this lease, does the rent stay at a set price or are we looking at rent hikes the longer I stay there?"

"Okay, I've got a good way for you to make your rent payments and it doesn't even involve cash, credits cards or checks."

"And what would that be?"

Jack pursued his lips into a smile and said, "a kiss."

The blonde managed to let out a smile and found his comment to be extremely romantic. She came up and managed to drop a peck onto his lips, "that had to be my easiest payment."

* * *

Nikki Bella was in the midst of enjoying her evening. Sitting beside the table, she was currently Dolph-less. Her date had disappeared somewhere for the moment and she was left alone.

Her only hope was that Dolph was not with her sister Brie. The two had gotten closer over the last few weeks and it did bother Nikki. Why would he want to get close to Brie? Or was it Brie who had something planned that worried Nikki?

She knew the type of person Brie was. She was vindictive and jealous. Brie did tell her that she wanted to start fresh but something told her otherwise. And just like she was thinking, Nikki spotted Dolph and Brie together over by the bar. The two were sharing a laugh and Nikki was not. She stood up onto her feet and confronted the two. Brie looked frightened for a moment as her sister approach. Despite her fear, Brie was dress in a leaf green one-shoulder knee length dress. Brie's hair was pulled back into a high ponytail.

"Oh, hi Nikki."

Dolph quickly turned around and was a little stunned to see Nikki. He knew she'd be mad but he had his reasons for being with her at the moment, "Nikki, I was just talking to Brie over here and –"

"You and Brie seem to be having a wonderful time. Every time you disappear, I always tend to find her with you. Is that not a little weird, Dolph?" Nikki was onto Brie. She just did not trust her.

"Nothing was happening here. Dolph and I –"

Nikki was growing angrier by the moment and Dolph knew this was going to go nowhere. He needed a quick moment with Nikki just to talk to her, "Brie, let me talk to Nikki for a moment. We'll be right back." Dolph grabbed Nikki's hand and guided her to a private area of the ballroom where they took a seat on an empty couch.

Nikki was not happy and Dolph could see it, "explain to me why every moment you disappear, I suddenly see you with my sister. Dolph, I told you I don't trust her and your always after her. What the hell is going on?"

"If you'd let me talk, I could tell you why."

"I hope it's good."

Dolph took a deep breath and pushed his blonde locks back as he looked at Nikki, "I know you get upset when you see Brie and I together but I've been doing it for a reason. Nikki, when you told me that story about how you and Brie cannot stand each other, I felt bad for the both of you. You two are sisters and you cannot even be in the same room with one another."

"What is your point?"

"I just feel bad for you. Honestly, I would never want anything like that to happen to me. A sibling is such an important person in your life. I wish I could have a brother or sister."

Nikki could feel this was coming from somewhere different. For the first time in their relationship, Dolph seemed to be opening up to Nikki, "Is there something wrong?"

He was never the type of man to shed a tear but lucky for him, no one was in sight to watch the tear come from his eye. Dolph quickly wiped it away. "When I was 12, I had a little brother. He was 2 years younger than me. One day, we were throwing a ball around in the front yard and I had thrown it too far onto the street. I was going to get the ball but he went instead but he didn't come back. He didn't see the car coming," the tears were coming out now. This story always brought tears.

"Dolph, I am so sorry," Nikki offered a shoulder to cry on. She pulled Dolph in a short hug before holding his hands.

"It should have been me but I let him. I was his older brother and I had to protect him but I didn't. He's gone."

"You've never told me this before…"

Dolph wiped away the tears with his sleeve and looked up to Nikki, "I never told anyone. Only a few people know about this but do you see why I am doing this? Why I want you to reunite with your sister? Don't lose her before it is too late. Siblings are such important people in our lives. They are not like friends. Friends come and go but your siblings are your family. The way you say you don't want nothing to do her hurts me because I would do anything to just have my brother back in my life."

Nikki could not anything wrong with what Dolph was saying. He was absolutely right.

"That's why I've been talking with your sister. I was hoping that if I talk to her, you would talk with her. I've just been trying to make you two make amends over everything. Let bygones be bygones and move on. Brie has managed to agree and all she is waiting for is for you. Nikki, just give this a chance."

She could not believe this was happening to her right now. Dolph's story was extremely touching and she finally found out something new about Dolph. There is more to him than meets the eye and she could tell how much family means to him.

The Brie situation had to come to an end. Whatever happened between the two should stay in the past. So they had a horrible past – it did not mean they should have a miserable future as well. She was going to be leaving high school in a matter of weeks and into college. Along with leaving high school, it was time to leave behind the silly high school antics. Let bygones be bygones. Nikki was going to make a vow – she was going to restore the relationship with her sister. It would make Dolph happy as well as herself.

"I am going this a chance. I am going to start tonight."

Nikki removed herself from the couch and headed for her sister. Dolph was not to far behind. Brie was shocked when she found Nikki walking toward her. Any confrontation with her sister did not usually go to well.

"Brie, I would like to talk to you for a moment," Requested the twin sister as Brie nodded. "I think it's time we act like adults. We're going to be heading into college soon and leaving high school so let us leave all the high school stupidity behind us. I want us to move on. You and I have a horrible past and why should we make the present and future as miserable as that. Can we just start over and let us act like real sisters?"

Brie pursued her lips together in a smile, "that is exactly what I wanted to hear. Nikki, I would love nothing more to let this go so we can finally act like sisters again."

"So, truce?"

Nikki put forward her hand and Brie soon followed, "truce."

Nikki decided to take it to that extra step and proceeded to hug her sister in the process. Brie was surprised but ultimately decided to accept the hug. Dolph, who witness the situation, couldn't have been prouder of Nikki. He came forward and greeted the ladies.

"I am really thrilled to see that the two of you have finally settled your differences."

Nikki pulled out her camera from her clutch and handed it to Dolph, "I need a picture of my sister and I at our prom." Nikki and Brie posed for the camera as Dolph took the shot, "I'll definitely send it to you."

Just as Nikki said that, Brie's phone went off. She quickly pulled it out and checked to see who was calling, "Guys, I got to take this really quick. I will be right back."

Neither Nikki nor Dolph seemed to mind as Brie disappeared into the lobby of the hotel. When it was safe, Brie managed to talk to the individual on the other line, "finally, you decide to call. Is everything I need ready?"

"The dress has been delivered to your house."

"Is it the right color?"

"Purple, just like you asked for. Is there any reason why you needed this specific dress, Brie?"

Brie smirked, "That has nothing to do with you. Your money is in an envelope in my mailbox. Thank you for your help."

With the phone shut, Brie's plan was going into its final stages.

* * *

"So enlighten me how you plan on telling Eve how you feel tonight?"

Ted DiBiase was extremely curious and he is never the type who acts like that but this was a different occasion. He was directing the question to Cody. Ted, along with Dolph and Evan were just as curious over the whole thing.

"The moment is going to come. Guys, I am telling you. Eve still loves me. I know it. Deep down inside she still wants to be with me and not with that loser Riley. She is my prom date and she would have not said yes if she did not have feelings for me," defended Cody. He firmly believed that Eve herself had a reason for accepting Cody's proposal.

Dolph intervened, "dude, I don't want you to get your hopes all up but Alex did ditch her last minute and she would have said yes to anyone who asked her. I bet if Zack Ryder asked, she would have said yes."

"We just don't want to see you get upset if it turns out that Eve doesn't like you," Evan had to make sure that they weren't saying Cody didn't have a chance but that their was still the risk that she may not respond to Cody's feelings in the way he expects it. "We do hope it happens but be aware that it may not happen."

"Your right but you know, you have to go into this with a positive attitude."

Suddenly, Jack Swagger had appeared with a confused expression resting on his face. In his hand was a piece of paper and key card to a hotel room here. He looked up at the guys and asked, "Tiffany just left this for me about 15 minutes ago. She told me to meet her upstairs in room 703 at 10:30. Wonder what she wants?"

To the guys, it was pretty obvious and Dolph decided to respond, "How is it not obvious? She wants you. You're going to get it in tonight."

Jack was a bit stunned as the comments continued. Ted was next, "I got to agree with Dolph on this one. Though most of the time, I think he is wrong, I'll go with him on this one."

"When am I wrong most of the time?"

Cody popped into the conversation in the defense of Ted, "remember those, quote on quote answers you found for Mrs. Guerrero's history test? We took those answers and put it onto our tests and it turns out it was from Mr. Styles test so we all ended up failing."

"Okay, so one time –"

"And," it was now Evan's turn. "There was the time you said that you scored the winning touchdown but everyone knew it was Ted but yet you continued saying it was you. At one point, we actually got footage of the winning touchdown and you still went on."

"So two times –"

Jack quickly changed the subject. He did not believe that Tiffany would be ready to take it to that level. They had a discussion over this and it was a sensitive topic. She was not ready for that step and Jack had accepted it. "I mean, you guys do have a point but I don't know. We talked about it a lot and she always mentioned that it would not happen yet."

"You'll find out tonight, won't you?"

As Evan placed in his final statement, a breathless Maryse came running by. The reason she was there: to find Ted, immediately. She quickly locked eyes with him, "I've been looking for you forever – well not forever but for 3 minutes. They are going to announce the prom king and queen now. We have got to make it to the floor so it won't be such a long walk up to the stage. You too Cody! Even though personally, I hope you don't win but if you do, by all means come."

Maryse grabbed Ted's hand as they raced to the dance floor. The crowds had gathered up, with some deciding to stay at their table while others came closer. Eve and Kelly were already there as were the newly reconciled Bella twins as well. The rest of the guys soon followed.

Accompanied by Principal McMahon were two West Beverly Alumni's here to announce the prom king and queen - the school's guidance counselor and coach, Torrie and John Cena.

"If I could get everyone's attention please," announced Stephanie McMahon as silence came into the ballroom. "At this time, we shall announce the new prom king and queen. All the votes have been counted and tallied. To introduce our prom king and queen will be two faculty members who were nominated for prom king and queen 15 years ago. Please welcome our guidance consuelor, Ms. Cena and our very own varsity football coach, Coach Cena."

A round of applause began for the two alumni as they took the microphones. Torrie smiled at the crowd and could not believe she was standing at her little sister's prom. It was only 15 years ago that she was in the same position as Kelly. It is amazing how time flies in these situations. Torrie almost felt like she was back in time and that she was sharing a table with all of her friends – Chris, Stacy, Randy, Trish, Lita, Candice, Dave, Jeff and Matt. Oh, how the time flies.

John too was reminiscing as well as he stared out into the flock of seniors. It is hard to believe that he was once a high school student and sometimes wishes he could just go back. The fun times he had were nothing but memories at this point.

"Let me first say, congratulations seniors on making it to your senior prom. Ms. Cena and I were once exactly in your shoes and we wish you all nothing but the best."

Torrie had the prom king in the envelope that was in her hand, "and without further ado, West Bev's prom king is –" a light drum roll followed before Torrie made the revelation. "Ted DiBiase!"

The crowd cheered. Ted was shocked by the announcement, as he really did not expect this to happen. Maryse gave him a peck on the cheek before he made his way onto the stage to accept his crown. Torrie placed the crown directly on his head.

Maryse was now anticipating the next decision. As she stared at the crown, she felt someone give her a bit of a nudge. It was her competition Layla," oh excuse me Maryse. I was just getting closer to the front."

"Oh, I know why. You wanted to see up close when Mr. Cena announces me as winner and places the crown upon my head. Oh Layla, you are just too kind."

"No, that's not why. Actually quiet the opposite. I don't want to make such a long walk to the stage. I can see my crown is waiting on stage as well as my king who I must say is looking rather dapper."

Maryse smirked at the remarks, "And if you go up there – which your not – everyone is going to see you in that disgusting dress. That is why I am going to win. I'm sure my dress also had swerved some of those votes my way."

"You're going to make a great comedian one day with those jokes," said Layla.

And Maryse fired back in her own way, "And you're going to make a great weekly addition on 'What Not to Wear.'"

"And, West Bev's prom queen is –" the drum roll began and it felt like eternity before the announcement was officially made.

Lucky for Maryse, she could rest easy.

"Maryse Ouellet!"

The French Canadian was beyond ecstatic for her win. Of course, she gave Layla a smug look before she walked upon the stage. John placed the crown onto her head. She could feel herself getting emotional.

"Do our King or Queen have any words to –"

Before Torrie could even finish the sentence, Maryse grabbed the microphone and took it upon herself to thank her classmates, "My fellow classmates, I am honored to have been chosen your Queen. I always knew that deep down inside you all loved me and my sense of style and my humor and just me, basically –"

This speech was extremely self-centered but it had it's way, "but, this has been a great four years and I've been lucky to have met some pretty amazing people. I almost went to St. Catherine's school for girls but thank god I didn't! Their uniforms were disgusting and you would not catch me wearing those," there she was, going off topic. "But what I am trying to say is that, I could not be happier with my decision to go to West Beverly and could not be happier to meet some of you people."

Did Maryse just thank other people and not act totally self centered like she usually does? They think so. The speech was proceeded with a short applause as Ted grabbed the microphone and simply said, "Um, thanks…" to round out his speech. That was met with tremendously applause and cheering.

"Now it is time for the prom king and queen's first dance," announced Torrie as the couple made their way to the dance floor.

The lights came down nice and low as Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" came on through the speakers. Maryse draped her arms across Ted's neck as he wrapped his around his slender hips. This moment was surely perfect.

"Congratulations Prom King."

"Congratulations Prom Queen – may I say that the crown looks fantastic on your head."

"Why thank you."

"You never needed a crown on your head to tell me you were the queen of my heart."

The comment would make any girl 'aw' but it made Maryse realize that this whole prom queen thing did not mean anything. It would not make any one like her more or hate her more or help them change their sense of style. Ted's touching comment certainly made her feel good. Why did she put so much focus onto winning this title? It means nothing. All that truly mattered is that she is loved.

"And you're the king of my heart."

"And when we get a chance later, I'd really like to talk to you about something. It is something really important that I want to talk to you about. Sometime tonight, can we talk about it?"

Maryse nodded, "of course. That's what I'm here for. I'm here for you to talk to, anytime and anywhere. But for now, let's just enjoy this dance – which may possibly be our last dance as high school students."

Ted reassured her with a simple nod as she rested her head upon his shoulder. There bodies swayed slowly to the gentle music as the beat went on and on.

* * *

The lights lowered as a much slower pacing song came up. Katy Perry's Teenage Dream came through the speakers. Of their friends, Eve and Cody were the only ones left on the dance floor. Eve rested her arms around his shoulder as his hands rested by her hips. Cody could not stop staring down at Eve. She looked incredibly beautiful in her dress. Her eyes would sparkle against the flashing lights and the scent of her perfume was incredible.

He was the luckiest guy in the world to have her as his prom date. This evening was going extremely well but it was just the trouble of telling Eve that he still has feelings for her. She had a boyfriend but she was not going to let that stop him from telling her. Too much was at risk and not knowing what could happen was killing him. What would happen if she never told him? Or what would happen if she did? It was a suicide mission out there.

Eve caught onto his staring and asked, "You've been staring at me all night with that look. What's up Cody?"

"You just look so gorgeous. Have I mentioned it at all this evening?" asked the football player.

She giggled, "Oh, only about a hundred times but I like hearing it. It blocks out Maryse's constant gloating over her win to Layla. It is something nice to hear for once."

Cody was about to go for it but did not want to ask Eve how she felt just like that. He had to beat around the bush, "can I ask you something and you have to be honest with me?"

"Shoot."

As the music played on and the pair danced, Cody asked, "Have you ever still been in love with someone who you used to be with?"

Eve thought about the question thoroughly, "well, I think a part of me has always loved someone I used to be with. A part of my heart will always be with them. It is not easy to just let go of someone. They have been a big part of my life and it shall remain like that. There have also been people that I may love more than another. They just had a different affect on me. Like you…"

_Oh god, is this it? What is she going to tell me? _Why would Eve mention him? Their relationship was the first one she had since she got to Beverly Hills. Maybe she was hiding something or wanted to tell him something.

"Like me?"

"Yeah, you were so special to me. Sometimes I wonder what if we never broke up. Things may have played out so much differently but you know what, things happen for a reason and we move on. You went on with Kelly and I went Ted and now with Alex. "

Alex. He really hated hearing that name. Despite mentioning his name, why would she say all of this? Sure, things may have played out much differently but why would she mention that. This was exactly what he was hoping for – to get a clue that maybe Eve does still have feelings for him and this isn't all a lost cause.

But how is he just supposed to tell her? _Oh, hey Eve. I still love you and I want to be with you. Now that sounds stupid. Eve, I've never stopped loving you and there is nothing more in the world that I would want except to be with you again. What are you Shakespeare? You just have to be honest and natural with it. _

"So you honestly think if we have never broken up, we would have been together right now?"

Eve smiled softly as she looked up at Cody, "Yeah, I honestly think so." From there, she went on a little stroll down memory lane, "I was so hurt that night and I couldn't do anything about it. I found something out at that point. Something that really told me something."

"What was that?"

"That I really loved you. I really did. I would have not been that hurt if it wasn't with a person I loved."

This was the moment. He had to tell her now or it was not going to happen. This was the chance. Cody took a gasp of air and said, "Eve, I think there is something I should tell you now."

Eve looked up into his deep eyes and asked, "You can tell me."

_Here goes nothing._

"Eve, I'm still –"

"Oh my god, Alex."

He could feel her hands fall from her shoulders and quickly left his side. Cody turned over to see Eve running toward the figure. He was there. Alex Riley was right there before his eyes. He stood there on the dance floor looking like a total idiot at this point. All he wanted was about to disappear. He watched at the pair got together in for a lip lock. He could feel his heart shattering into bits as he watched what was unfolding before him. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

Reluctantly, he came forward as Eve and Alex were beginning a conversation. Eve began, "Alex, what are you doing here? I thought you were still dealing with the family emergency."

"I grabbed a late flight from Houston. It turns out everything was going to be okay and that is when I decided that I needed to come back here to be with you. I did not want to miss your prom. I was going to call but I figured that this would be the best way to surprise you."

"This truly is a great surprise," she pulled him into one more lip lock and introduced him to Cody. "Cody was so kind enough to be my date for the evening when I found out you were gone."

"Thanks for keeping her company dude but I am going to gave to relinquish you of those duties now. If you don't mind, may I dance with Eve?" asked Mr. Riley.

What was Cody to say? He could not just say no. It was Eve's boyfriend, he had ever right to dance with her and did not even have to ask him. He managed to smirk at least and said, "of course," as the two walked back onto the dance floor as another slow song came on. He watched as his hands crawled over Eve's hips. With every moment passing, his heart was breaking.

Cody reluctantly returned to the table where Ted and Maryse were sitting down. He pulled up a seat and sat there. Ted quickly noticed that something was wrong with him and decided to ask, "Dude, what's up? You seem upset."

"Alex came back."

"What are you talking about?" a confused Ted had asked before he looked over onto the dance floor and realized why Cody had gotten extremely upset. "Dude, I'm sorry. I know tonight was supposed to be special for you. I don't know what else to tell you."

"Nothing. Don't worry. I'll be fine," said Cody as he got from his seat and exited the ballroom. He needed to escape from that room. He could not watch the two of them for another second.

Cody soon found himself out of the massive ballroom and into some open area. Lucky for him, there was a bar not to far away from where he was. He quickly went up to the bartender and would ask for a drink. Lucky, if he was asked, he had his fake I.D tucked in his wallet.

"Shot of vodka, please."

* * *

Getting off the elevator, Jack was now on the hotel's seventh floor. As he got off, he took a right and wasn't long till he was standing outside room 703.

For a moment, he thought about it. He was waiting to slide the key card in. He thought about what I guys were saying. Could Tiffany be planning something along the lines of giving up her virginity? But he had it locked in his mind that would not happen. He respected the fact that Tiffany wanted to wait. He cared about her way too much to just let that happen. If she wanted to wait, she wanted to wait. Jack would give her that time to decide upon that and when she was ready, he would be ready.

He slid the card key into the slot and opened the door. Jack would certainly be in for a surprise. As he came in, he had to walk in a little further until he was met with quiet the surprise. "Tiffany?"

"Hi Jack."

And there she was. Tiffany had on black silky baby doll – it was as if the lingerie catalogue came to life. The room was decorated in the most romantic way possible. Every surface had candles on it with the lights turned off, as the candles were the only source of light. Rose pedals filled the ground and the king side bed. Tiffany had everything exactly the way she wanted to. This was a moment in time she would not forget.

Mr. Swagger was stunned. Maybe he should have listened to the guys? "Tiffany –"

"Let me explain," she came forward, clutching his hands. "I know before I told you I wasn't ready and I needed some time to think about it. Over the past few weeks, I really thought about it and there is a reason why I am doing this. Jack, you're my first boyfriend and the first person I can actually say I fell in love with. And if I am going to lose it, I want to lose it to someone who I care about, who I love."

Still stunned, he didn't know what to say, "What made you change your mind so quickly? I mean, not that I don't want this to happen but since then, I always want to make sure you are ready for this."

"You're not pressuring me or anything. After we had that talk, I thought about the whole thing and things just changed. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I was ready. I waited for the right guy. I waited for the right time. I waited for the right feeling. It has all come together."

"But your one hundred percent sure? Once you go in, there's no going back."

She grabbed his blazer and tugged at it, "you know how cute you are when you act like this? Jack, I am ready and I wouldn't be telling you this if I was lying."

That was it, no more talking. Tiffany took the initiative and pressed her lips upon Jack's. Jack quickly took control and soon found his arms caressing her body. Tiffany was not wasting time in getting Jack's blazer off. That was off and she was working on the buttons to Jack's shirt.

Jack eventually pushed Tiffany's body against the bed and found herself on top of her. He left butterfly kisses along her neck. With Jack's shirt slipping off, Tiffany could finally see that the moment was coming soon.

He stopped her from kissing. All there was now was their breath, hitting against one another. Their eyes were now locked. Jack had to get one last reassurance, "Are you ready?"

Everything had felt so right up until this moment and there was not a single doubt in her mind that she was doing the right thing.

"I'm ready."

* * *

**A/N: **First, Merry Christmas to all! Hope you have all enjoyed the holiday. Here is the long-awaited prom chapter and with 7 chapters left, I am getting a little upset to see this story finishing but I think you will all like where this goes. Thanks for reading!

_Next Chapter - Prom night continues to be memorable but no one was expecting this.._


	49. Lights Will Guide You Home

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Forty Nine - Lights Will Guide You Home_

Jack and Tiffany could not keep themselves away from one another. As they exited their hotel room, their lips were locked in passionate kiss. Their special evening was certainly amazing. Tiffany couldn't help but grin as she kissed Jack. She wanted more but knew that the night was only beginning and so much more was set to go on.

"Jack – we have to stop," Tiffany pushed him away gently. "We are going to be late. If we don't leave now, we won't catch the limo back to Maryse's house for the after party."

"I just can't keep my hands off of you," Jack said in between kisses as he was kept being pushed away by a laughing Tiffany. "You made my night even better, you know that."

She grinned like a little girl, "I am happy to hear that and I am really happy. Honestly, I am so happy that I waited for the right time and the right person to have my first time with. That moment – it is something I will never forget. Thanks for making it a great night. I mean it."

Jack and Tiffany locked eyes. He gently pushed back some of her hair and told her, "Tiffany, I would have waited months or years to have this moment with you and well, it was worth the wait," he placed a kiss onto her lips. "Now let's go. I hear Ziggler and Nikki were going to challenge us to an intense game of beer bong and we must beat the two of them."

"Oh really?"

"And they think you aren't real competition so you have to prove them wrong."

As the two joked, they began their descent down back to the ballroom where the prom festivities were coming to an end. However, there was one person who was still watching the little show the two put on in the hallway. A devious smirk came across the face of the prom queen nominee who was unfortunate to win the title. Layla El may have lost the title but she plans of her own. This night had to have a little fireworks.

Tiffany and Jack eventually returned to the ballroom to witness the end of their senior prom. The music was slowly beginning to dial down as The Wanted's 'Glad You Came' despite half the class had already chosen to leave.

The two spotted their group of friends chatting away at the table. The two mixed into the group as Tiffany headed out to talk to the Nikki, Kelly and Maryse, "Hey guys – are you almost ready to go?"

The girls could see that Tiffany was glowing that even and of course, Maryse had something to say, "Some is looking mighty happy – I suppose operation giving it up to the Swag was successful?"

"You couldn't just ask normally?" asked Kelly, who rolled her eyes at Maryse's comment. "So how did everything go, Tiffany?"

"Everything went really well. I will tell you more later when we are alone because I don't want anyone to know yet. So let's keep it between us."

Nikki nodded before she waved over to her sister to come over to her as the girls were pretty shocked by this action. Again, Maryse was the first person to say something, "alright, first Tiffany gives it up to Jack and now Nikki is talking to her sister who she once wanted to kill – was there something in that punch you all drank?"

"Brie and I decided to make amends and put everything behind us. The fighting had to stop. I also invited her to your party so she is going to catch a ride with us in the limo," Nikki had revealed to the girls.

"Glad to hear that," said a thrilled Kelly as she rubbed Nikki's back. "Sisters are very important and I am happy to hear you forgave each other."

"I'm happy too."

The DJ came to the speaker announcing the final song was about to be played. The gang with the exceptional of Cody gathered onto the dance floor as he played Fun.'s "We Are Young" played. As the song came to an end, confetti sprinkled upon the dance floor to mark the end of the evening. The entire gang had enjoyed their eventful evening.

This night had been special in so many ways for so many people. Bridges that were once broken were built once again. A relationship was taken to the next level while someone took himself to another level to prove something and one got to bask in the glory knowing she had accomplished something dear to herself.

But for Cody Rhodes, who was watching from a distance, could watch his night crumbling away. A night that was meant for celebration was a night of disappointment for him. There was no exact number of shots it would take to numb this agony.

* * *

Maryse Ouellet was an expert at hosting parties, especially at this point in her life. Throughout the years of high school, she threw some of the best parties and knew that this might be one of the last ones and was determined to make this party the best yet.

Her house would certainly be a mess after tonight. The piles of limos were pulling up to her home, dropping off her classmates for her huge after prom party. She could only hear the amount of noise complaints she would be getting the next morning.

The DJ was rolling out some awesome tunes – Scream by Usher – to be exact. The crowds of West Beverly students were scattered through out her home. Luckily no one was home as her mother was in Paris for a few days, which left the house available.

Maryse was certainly enjoying herself like everyone at the party. One person who was not enjoying himself – Cody Rhodes.

Cody had opened up his third beer of the evening and he had not been at Maryse for less than 20 minutes. As one of his ex-girlfriends, Maryse noticed it immediately. She was not stupid and yes, she did pay attention to him during their relationship.

"Cody, what's the matter?"

Cody was staring directly as his prom date and her boyfriend, Eve and Alex. The two were laughing it off and having a phenomenal time. Cody was beyond miserable. Why did he have to come back then? Why did he have to come back at all? The evening was going perfect then he had to come in and ruin everything. His thoughts were getting him so confused that he did not notice Maryse was trying to get his attention.

"What do you want?"

"Your beyond annoyed at this moment and I am trying to be that concerned friend who is checking up on you? Is that a problem? Can't a girl be concerned for someone else?"

Cody rolled his eyes, "how about you leave me alone, alright? I don't want to talk right now."

"Fine – cry like a baby over losing Eve to Alex."

He quickly grew interested over Maryse and how she discovered about his little secret. Of course the fingers were pointed to Ted, "How did you find out about that? Did Ted tell you?"

"He didn't have to tell me anything. I figured out the whole thing by myself and before you say some ridiculous comment thinking I am an idiot, guess again. You would be surprised how smart I am."

"So then what should I do?"

Maryse decided to keep her answer low key and straight to the point, "she'll come around." Those were the only words to express how Maryse felt about the entire situation. She made her way back into the party and decided that Cody needed the moment to himself.

As for Cody, he did not think her advice was that helpful. In fact, it only made him angrier. But nothing was going to make him more upset than watching Eve walk right up to him with a beaming smile. Alex had disappeared for a moment as Eve came closer.

"Can you believe how sweet Alex is? He came all the way from Houston just so he could be my date again. God, I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I am. He even joked that I had two dates but that he was real date," she let out a soft chuckle.

He rolled his eyes. Any sentence with the word Alex in it made him cringe, "guess your date left you again? Hopefully he is coming back this time."

"Excuse me?" The attitude Cody was giving was not being well received by Eve, "that's a little mean, don't you think?"

"Not as mean as shoving your prom date to the side while you danced with your boyfriend – I don't think you're the person who should be telling me who is being mean."

Eve was just plain old disgusted with Cody's attitude. He was being incredibly rude to her and disrespecting Alex. Where was the guy who asked her to prom? That nice guy – apparently he was gone.

"What has gotten into you? Have you been drinking or something – is that why you're acting like a complete ass?"

"I'm the ass? You ditched me so you can go hang out with your little boyfriend. Cody gets tossed to the side while you have the time of your life with Prince Alex," he could see Alex coming back from the corner of his eye. "Here he comes – I think I should leave the two of you alone. I wouldn't want to disturb you guys any longer."

"Cody!"

But before she could say anything else, he disappeared into the crowd of people. Eve was certainly frustrated with the whole ordeal. He had never acted like that before to her and she assumed that the alcohol he was having had something to do with this.

She quickly changed her expression as Alex came by to her but that did not mean she was not going to find out what was going on with Cody.

* * *

Evan had disrobed himself of his blazer and tossed it onto a nearby chair. He rolled up his sleeves and began to witness history in the making. The team of Tiffany and Jack taking on Dolph and Nikki in an intense game of beer bong and it was anyone's game right about now. Each team had one cup left and now it was Tiffany's turn. Jack was really on her to score this shot.

"Now Tiffany, we need this shot and we will win the game. We will win and you can prove to the world that Tiffany Terrell is the world's greatest beer bong player," Jack's little speech was not helping nor was it valid. He just wanted to win so badly.

Evan decided to add in his own commentary, "Live at Maryse's mansion we are at the final cups of the 3rd annual Beer Bong table. The competition is tough but each team is down to one cup each. Rookie Tiffany Terrell is in for the fight of her life as she had the ball which could win her the game."

"Tiffany is so going to miss," said Dolph. His arrogance was made known throughout the intense game. "You only managed to score 1 cup."

"Dolph, stop it –" added Nikki.

Tiffany shit her eyes and tossed the ping-pong ball into the air and when she opened her eyes, all she could see was Dolph's expression, "Oh my god – I got it!" Tiffany jumped as did Jack and the two celebrated their victory over Nikki and Dolph. Dolph was not pleased at all when he had to drink the cup of beer. His whole plan was not a success.

"I knew you could do it," Jack tap kissed her.

Tiffany pulled away for a moment, "I am going to go grab a quick drink. I'll be back in just a second." Tiffany left the beer bong table and headed off to the makeshift bar beside the pool. She had to make her way through the crowd but she got there. As she was mixing juice and vodka into a glass, she could not help and notice four girls staring at her. These four girls were credited for making Tiffany's time at West Beverly a little difficult.

She could see them smirking. Layla, Rosa, Alicia and Maxine were giggling away and they were coming right for her._ Oh god, kill me now please. _Layla had her signature cocky smile on while she spoke, "Hello Tiffany – Oh my god, I absolutely love your dress," the sarcasm was written all over it.

"Give it a rest, Layla. Why do you always want to cause a problem?"

"Me? Causing you a problem? When have I ever done that to you?"

"What are you getting at?"

It was time to reveal the little bombshell she had, "Well, I'm not getting at anything but you were certainly getting at something – getting at Jack Swagger."

Tiffany's eyes blew up like the big bright moon. How did she find out about what had happened earlier that night? What was supposed to be kept a secret was now out in the open and in the hands of the enemy. "How do you know about that?"

"I saw the two of you get out of that hotel room. I heard what you two said how you were so happy to have waited for this moment and it was so perfect. I was nearly in tears when I heard you were still a virgin till that point. But then again, anyone would think twice before they ever do something to you."

Tiffany just had it to the point where she had enough. What was her problem? Why was she always like this? Tiffany just had to ask the question, "now you answer me this for me Layla – why are you such an evil manipulative bitch?" Layla and the girls were stunned by the accusation coming from Tiffany, "and don't put on such a show thinking you're this sweet person because you are not. You're a horrible human being."

"How dare you call me that? Who do you think you are?"

"I am a person who is fed up with dealing with you. When are you going to grow up? When are you going to stop acting like a complete bitch?"

The argument was getting a bit out of hand that some of the kids started to look around and Tiffany was eventually joined by Maryse, Kelly and Nikki who were right behind her. Nikki quickly asked, "What is going on here?"

"Tiffany, have I not made it clear to you? I have destroyed your life here once and I have no problem doing it again. You do not want to get on my bad side – oh wait, you already are."

Maryse, who was really fed up with Layla and her antics came forward but was stopped when Tiffany put her hand up, stopping Maryse, "Maryse, I can handle this," said Tiffany for the first time. She was standing up for herself. "Layla, your starting to get a little hot headed now."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Maybe you should cool off –" Layla was too confused to understand but it all made sense when Tiffany pushed the British beauty straight into the cold waters of the pool. The students began to laugh hysterically with the exception of Rosa, Alicia and Maxine who were absolutely furious.

Layla wailed around in the pool and screamed out loud, "you are crazy." Layla managed to get up from the pool and pushed back her wet heart. She looked up at Tiffany and sent a straight warning, "you better watch your back from now on."

Layla stomped away with her friends while Maryse, Nikki and Kelly joined her after her little situation. Tiffany was not going to be bossed around. She was a different person now and was not going to allow herself to be bossed around like a child. She would not allow it.

Of all the girls, Maryse had a nice comment to say about Tiffany, "Wow, Layla first loses the crown to me then get pushed in the pool. I absolutely love Prom night," praised Maryse. "Though I am calling the pool guy up immediately tomorrow morning to disinfect that pool."

* * *

Ted DiBiase had to tell her already. The more he stalled, the more the situation was going to get worse. He found her talking with a few friends by the pool and decided it was now or never. Ted walked up to his girlfriend and tapped her on her shoulder, interrupting the conversation that was at hand.

"Maryse, could I talk to you for a second?"

She smiled, "of course." Maryse looked over at her friend Natalya 'Nattie' Neidhart and said, "I'll be back in just a second so I can hear where you got those fabulous shoes."

Ted grabbed Maryse by the hand and guided her to a more private area. He settle into a corner of the backyard where they could still see everything going on and still be able to talk to one another. They took a seat on the stonewall, as they overlooked the party.

"So what's up, babe? What did you want to talk to me about?"

_Here goes nothing, right? _Ted could only hope that Maryse would be accepting of his decision. He knows the type of personality Maryse has and she would not be too pleased over this. He could only hope that everything will be okay and she won't be too upset.

"Well, a few weeks ago I made a decision. It was really hard to make but I think it was the right thing to do," he took a deep breath and began to tell her his decision. "I have decided to withdraw from CU. I won't be going there in the fall."

The confused Maryse could only ask one question, "why?"

"Honestly, when you and everyone else would talk about going to CU, I was never that excited. I just thought of it as another four years of school and I don't exactly want to do that anymore. I know I worked hard this year to get my grades up so I could get in, but I don't think I am able to do that. I just have no desire to be in school any longer. I want to begin living my life – I really want to."

"Your are living life, Ted."

"Not to the extent that I'd like. I still live at home and I just want the opportunity to branch out and do something fun and out of the ordinary. You live life once and you have to make the most of it. Plus, I already have a pretty good plan about what I plan on doing."

Maryse was not to pleased but she told herself she would not show it to him because she knew that it would make him upset. It was best to keep a straight face for the moment and hear what he has to say, "so what is the plan?"

"Well, I've had some cash set aside for a while now and my dad has sent me some money too. I would like to open up my own bar," Ted revealed his plan and Maryse continued to keep a straight face. "I don't know but I always wanted to run my own business. Now that I am 18, I can get a liquor license and I have already scouted out a few places. I found a nice place in Santa Monica that is right by the beach and I really like it."

"So you want to open up your own bar? Are you sure your ready to open up your own business?"

"I am more than ready. I always wanted to do something like this for a while and I think it is the perfect fit for me. I cannot stand to be in another classroom anymore. I want to do something with my life and I don't want to wait for it to happen. I am just really happy you're being supportive. I didn't think that you were going to be to happy with my decision to go and do something like this but I can't tell you how happy I am that your on board with this."

In reality, that was not the case. Maryse was a bit disappointed over the situation. She was truly happy for him but felt this was not the right decision to make at the moment. She felt that he was also unprepared for this. Opening and running your own business is quiet difficult and it requires some college education. However, he had such a smile on his face when he was saying this all. It was the smile she fell in love with and it was impossible for her to rain on his parade just like that. He was in love with the idea and she could not ruin it with her opinion. It was best to stay tight-lipped over the situation – for now. And it was prom too. Let today's problem be tomorrows and enjoy the evening.

"If that is what you want to do, then you should do it. I am also so flattered that you wanted to talk to me before you did anything. I just want to make sure your doing the right thing and that you will not regret it."

"I will not regret this. I promise that I am going to make you proud," Ted planted a sweet kiss onto her lips and pulled her up from the seat into an embrace. "I am happy to finally get that off my shoulders."

She busted out in a small smile but behind that smile she was really worried that Ted was risking his future by making this decision. For now, the truth would remain concealed and when the time is right, she could tell him how she feels about his decision but what if it is too late?

* * *

Brie watched as her sister was indulging with friends over a few drinks and thought this had to be the perfect moment for her plan to unfold. Brie Bella had to be one fabulous actress. To think that she managed to play Dolph and now her own sister – tonight the final steps to her plan would play out but it would require some help from someone.

While Nikki was busy, Brie walked upstairs for a moment into a spare room. On the bed laid the same exact purple gown Nikki was wearing. Brie absolutely loved the dress and decided to wear it as well. Removing her green dress, she slipped on the purple one and did she look amazing – she looked exactly like her sister. Brie took her hair down and now she and Nikki looked like twins.

She quickly exited the room and as she got downstairs, Nikki could not see her as her plan would be completely foiled but lucky for her she was not there but the right person she was looking for.

"Dolph, I'm over here."

Dolph caved into a smile when he saw his stunning girlfriend. He couldn't believe how beautiful she was, "you know, you are the hottest girl that is here tonight and I am lucky enough to be the one that goes home with you."

Brie came closer and gently spoke, "well, we don't have to wait till then you know. Maryse has a few free bedrooms upstairs that we can definitely make use off." She flashed a wink and Dolph immediately grabbed her by the hand and guided her upstairs. As they went upstairs, Brie passed by Tiffany who smiled at them for a moment but quickly passed by her. Once he had found a nice room, he pulled her into it and just could not help himself.

He pushed Brie into a deep passionate kiss and roamed around her body with her hands. He was not wasting anytime and already began to play with the zipper of her dress before he stopped for a second and stared at Brie for a moment. He noticed the perfume she had on was different, "Is this your perfume? It's different from the one you had earlier."

Brie had to come up with a quick excuse as fast as she could, "I just borrowed from a friend a little while ago because I felt like I didn't have enough – now where were we," she quickly got his mind off the topic when she started to kiss him again.

Their kisses were passionate, as Brie was making due of Dolph's shirt. She started to unbutton his shirt and soon ripped it off his body to reveal his perfect chiseled abs and chest. It was almost like someone it was carved into his chest. Brie pushed him toward the bed and he looked at her with a seductive pose.

She stopped and stared for a moment before saying, "I am going to make this the best night of your life."

* * *

Evan Bourne was doing some reflecting. He was always a person who liked to gather his thoughts when needed. As his fellow classmates we're enjoying the rest of the night drinking and dancing, he couldn't believe what happened to him tonight. For the first time, he was brave enough to do something so heroic. It was a moment like that he could not believe he did it.

The very person he had saved was coming forward. He couldn't get it out of his mind how beautiful she looked. Evan sat on the steps of Maryse's stairs as Kelly eventually joined him.

"I've been looking for you. Ted said he saw you sitting over here and I decided to come up and check on you. Plus, I needed an excuse to get away from Heath Slater – for some reason, he wants to perform a body shot off of me and I have to say that I am not that interested to have the girl from Wendys' even touch any part of my body."

Evan laughed for a moment, "I secretly think they are someone related. No one has hair that is that orange. I think it is genetically impossible."

Kelly let out a little giggle before she took a different route with the conversation, "I never really got the chance to really thank you for what you did earlier tonight. Evan, you were so brave to stand up to those guys. I don't know how to thank you. Those guys did not seem like they were up to any good."

"I was not going to let anyone hurt you. I don't know what I would do with myself if anyone had put his or her hands on you. I care about you way too much to let anything happen to you," confessed the boy in the tuxedo. "Plus, I was never that type who was brave. For some reason, when I saw them bothering you, I had this feeling come in me. It kept telling me that I should keep you safe from harm and I did just that."

"Don't ever think you're not brave. If you ask me, your probably one of the bravest human beings I have ever met and I am lucky enough to call you my friend too."

"You really mean that?"

The blonde could only nod in response, agreeing with her own claim. There was a lot more she had to get off her chest that evening – one of them being pretty serious, "can I ask you something and you have to be honest with me?"

"Ask away."

Kelly gave a blunt question "Do you ever still think about us?"

The question certainly came from left field. He did not expect it but on the other hand, he was anticipating it as well. The question on their future was pretty important and he was going to answer truthfully, "Yes, I do still think about us – a lot actually."

"Me too," she answered. "I always think about what if some things had never happened – like the whole Cody thing and you going into a coma. Would we be together right now if it wasn't for all of that?"

"Why are you asking all of these questions now?"

He just had to ask that question. It was pretty obvious that Kelly wanted the chance to get back together with Evan. It was only a matter of time before she finally gives in and confesses. She answered, "just asking."

"Well, since I am doing this whole being brave thing, I should just be brave and tell you –" he took a short pause as he stared right at her. "– that I am still crazy about you, Kelly. I think I have always been crazy about you."

"What?"

He knew she was playing dumb and it was not working, "don't act like you didn't hear me, Kelly. Should I say it again? I love you – always have and always will.

She could only respond to his question with an impromptu kiss. Kelly and Evan's lip crashed together and it was almost like they were sharing their first kiss – it felt exactly like that.

As Kelly pulled back away from him, he had one more thing to say, "that had to be one of the biggest regrets of my life. Letting you go was a stupid decision. I want to live a life with no regrets so I want right the wrong. Kelly, I would want nothing more in this world than to just be with you."

"I can't lie either. I want the same thing. I think my heart has always wanted to be with you. There has been no one else out there that was worth loving. You're the person I want to be with and there is no one else right for me than you."

Kelly could only smile. So many amazing things were happening tonight. This reunion with Evan was only the beginning. She did not have anything else to say but instead she wanted to show him how she felt. She got onto her feet and asked for his hand. Kelly guided him up the stairs where the two would finally get the opportunity to show each other how they really feel.

* * *

Nikki Bella could see the party was wrapping up. The night sky was getting lighter and lighter and it would not be long till the sun would come up.

Words could not describe how happy she was with the evening. From spending the night with Dolph to making amends with Brie, she finally felt she was at peace. A part of her always felt tense since her sister's return but with their heartfelt conversation really made her feel better. Her anger toward her sister had finally disappeared. The two of them could act like sisters once again – like they are supposed to.

She grinned to herself thinking of all the things they could do now. A sister – especially a twin sister – is supposed to be a best friend. Nikki could finally look at her and not have to think that she is planning something devious.

And if the two of them can reconcile, maybe this gave her faith that she could restore her broke relationship with her mother and same goes for Brie with her father. This whole new reconciliation has opened the doors to so many possibilities.

Nikki went around in search of Dolph so the two could go home. As she went around the house, she bumped into Tiffany who was surprised to see her. Tiffany look dumbfounded, "you must work really fast, Nikki."

Nikki did not understand Tiffany's little joke but she still laughed, "how do I work fast?"

"Weren't you just with Dolph?"

"I am actually looking for him right now."

Tiffany clearly took this as a misunderstanding, "I guess I had too much to drink that I am seeing things. I think it's time Jack takes me home. But before I forget, Maryse just wanted me to tell you that we are all meeting up at the beach tomorrow – sometime around 3 so if I don't see you, I'll see you then."

"Great!" answered Nikki as Tiffany left.

Nikki agreed with the decision but was that was somewhat weird. _How was I upstairs with Dolph when I was downstairs the entire night? That's weird. _Nikki continued through the room until she reached the stairs. As she got to the stairs, she paused for a moment before heading up. As she got to the top of the stairs, she couldn't help but hear some noise coming from one of the bedrooms. She shouldn't be too surprised as it is prom night and things like this do happen.

One room she heard something in particular. Familiar noises and a familiar name being said. As she got to the door, she pushed it open and that is when she wished she had never opened the door in the first place.

There they were – Dolph going at it with another girl. Nikki gasped for the moment and yelled out, "Dolph! What are you doing?!"

Dolph froze and pushed back the sheets to see a devastated Nikki standing before him. No words could be said at the moment and there was no explanation he could say. He was caught red handed. But there was one thing – he was confused. He thought this was Nikki so that could only mean one thing.

Nikki's heart was shattering. Her chest was feeling very hollow. It was like someone took a gun and shot her but that was only going to get worse as the sheets really came off and the other person was revealed. The same person she thought she made amends with, Brie Bella, was in the same bed with her boyfriend.

"Brie….Dolph…."

Dolph pulled himself out of the bed, quickly finding his pants lying around there and decided to put them on before he started his long explanation, "Nikki, I thought that was you. She was dressed like you. She acted like you." He paused and went on though she was not responding. "You've got to believe me."

Brie simply grabbed the purple dress she was wearing and held it against her chest. A sly smirk inscribed on her face and all she could think about was how long she waited to see that look on Nikki's face. The look of hurt, disbelief and surprise upon her face. Oh, how long she waited to see that face. She could firmly say right now that this mission was accomplished.

"Your sick. You are a sick human being. You slept with my sister. You slept with my twin sister. I can't even look at you."

Dolph came forward and was not going to go down without a fight. He came to Nikki, holding her arms and kept saying, "I was tricked. I saw her in the hallway and she brought me up here. She was wearing the same dress as you and she acted just like you. Nikki, please –"

Dolph Ziggler really screwed up this time but he was simply tricked into this entire mess. Brie was the one to blame for this mess.

"I can't even look at you –"

Nikki left him hanging for that second and walked over to Nikki. After all the two had been through this evening, she went and pulled a stunt like this. Brie must really have such a strong hatred for her to go and do something like this.

"And you – this whole thing was a huge act, wasn't it? You never wanted to repair our relationship. You did not care about being sisters. This whole thing was a huge ploy to get back at me wasn't it? You couldn't stand to see me happy and you just wanted to make me miserable since after all you live a pretty damn miserable life."

Brie could only smirk before it was her time to explain in a snarky attitude, "yeah your right sister. I sent out to destroy you. You were always the one who got all the attention and got all the looks – meanwhile someone passes by me and I wouldn't even get a single look. So what I wanted to do was take way the things that made you so special – Dolph and your reputation."

It did not add up precisely but Nikki had discovered something else, "wait, my reputation? You were the one who videotaped me and Dolph, didn't you?" If she pulled this stunt, it is highly possibly she did that one as well.

An evil laugh ensued, "exactly and spending all the time with Dolph certainly helped too. I could see how you cringed at that. I loved it."

With everything starting to make sense, Nikki asked her one last question, "So spending the last 6 months here to get my boyfriend in bed was your plan for revenge?"

"You catch on quick sister."

How could Brie stand there and actually tell this to her sister with such a straight face? What kind of sister was she? She was no sister at all. All the jealously and anger got to Brie's mind.

"And here I thought that after our little reunion that we could solve the other problems that have ridden our family. Honestly Brie, I hope your happy – I really hope you are."

"I am thrilled," said the arrogant Brie as Nikki turned away from her but she still had one last thing to say. "And now I see why you talk so much about Dolph – he's really knows how to hit the spot."

And she froze for a moment and thought that Brie needed to suffer – whether it is physically or emotionally. She reversed her steps and stood before her sister. She still had her sly smirk but that was quickly wiped away when Nikki slapped Brie directly across the face. Finally, the smirk was swapped out for an expression of pain.

Nikki left her sister to deal with the pain and Nikki came back to Dolph to say a few more words. Her mind could not comprehend why he would have done this? They had been through so much to get there and it had to end like this. Dolph was her first real true love and he had to go and destroy them. She did not want to give him pity since he was tricked. That does not forgive anything.

As she looked at Dolph, she could see how upset she was, "and you. I told you I loved you and you go and do something like this. You go and sleep with my sister. How could you?" She had to do it. As much as it killed her, she had to end this all, "we cannot be together, Dolph. I always thought you and I were going to be together forever but that can't happen now. You and I – we're finished."

Nikki held back the tears until she was at a good distance. As she went through the door, Dolph was speechless while Brie still felt victorious. Dolph quickly put on the rest of his clothes. He did not want to make any eye contact with Brie. He was just beyond repulsed by her actions. As he gathered his clothes, he exited the room and had to search for Nikki.

Nikki had gotten out of Maryse's home and continued down the street. The trail of tears came rolling down her face as she walked home. She felt her life simply crashing before her. Her heart was broken and she feared that it might never be mended.

* * *

Evan and Kelly were heading down the stairs as their night had finally concluded. With the rest of their classmates beginning to leave, they thought it was best that they leave as well. The plan had already been discussed: gather the rest of their friends and head out to grab some breakfast at the Peach Pit. It was only typical that they end the night somewhere they have always spent a lot of time at.

"I am going to head out and grab my car. Grab whoever you could find and we'll head out. Sounds like a plan?" Evan restated the entire plan just as a precaution.

"I see whatever friends I can gather up but there is a high probability a majority of them are celebrating the end of their prom night in a bedroom and will not be interested in celebrating over some breakfast at the peach pit."

"Your really funny, you know that?" said Evan as he came in for a kiss, which Kelly had happily accepted. "I am so happy I got to spend this entire night with you. Thanks for making tonight extraordinary."

"Promise me you'll be there for me?" Kelly wanted to make sure that this time everything worked between the two of them. She didn't want mistakes or problems like last time, "and let's make everything really work this time. No mistakes

How could he not keep that promise? "Always and forever – I'll definitely be there," he came in for one more kiss. "I'll see you outside in 5 minutes. I'll call you."

Evan headed out the door but Kelly was constantly on his mind. Finally, after so long the two of them were reunited and it felt absolutely amazing. He could see his life finally turning around. For the last few months, he always felt something was missing and this must have been it. Kelly was the part of him that was missing. He was going to finish senior year the right way.

If Evan only knew what awaited him in the streets of Beverly Hills, his senior year would not end to well.

The closer he approached his car he could see two figures standing by it and what looked like it was an attempt to break into his vehicle. Now that he has his newfound courage, he was not going to allow him to be a victim once again.

"Hey!"

The two immediately looked up and when their faces were revealed, Evan learned that this was not the first time he has seen these people. He still renamed one of their names but could not remember the others, "well, will you look at that? It's the kid who suddenly grew a pair!"

"Get the hell away from my car."

Evan was a little shaky but still perfectly fine to go at with the two of these but the other figure refused to get into any altercation, "let's get out of here Truth."

"No – I have the perfect idea on how you can finally pay your dues," and with that statement, Truth reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun and handed it to Justin. "Here you go."

Justin was now in possession of the gun. Evan just stared out blankly. He held his hands up and hoped that nothing severe would happen. This could be the very well be the end for him – the end of the line. Sweat would drip down his cheek in frustration.

With the gun still pointed right at Evan, Justin knew he could not do this. He gently put the gun down and Evan sighed. Justin could not takes anyone's life – he could not do it, no matter what the price. His hands came down as well and Justin said, 'I can't do it. I don't want to do this. Let's go Truth."

"So you rather your family suffer even more instead of pulling the damn trigger. Must I do everything – "

In the instant, Truth grabbed the gun did the unthinkable. Bang! Bang! Two shots were fired.

Justin was absolutely shocked as his eyes watched what was unfolding. Truth pulled the gun down as he stared at Evan. Evan's eyes were opened wide. He glanced down to see the two gunshot wounds in his body. The blood was seeping out. He placed his hand over the wounds in order to stop the bleeding but it was not working. He only got blood on his hand. He walked forward a bit and wiped his hand across the car, leaving a mark of his blood before collapsing to the ground.

Truth and Justin slowly pushed back and that is when Truth said, "run!" and the two disappeared into the dark night.

Evan remained there on the fall as the seconds had past. He felt himself gasping for air. The pain from the wound was excruciating as he continued to bleed out. He needed help immediately but there was no help coming.

* * *

Finally, Cody Rhodes was given a moment of peace and away from the antics of the ongoing party that was downstairs. Cody was in an empty room in Maryse's home, sipping on a beer and watching the sky slowly begin to brighten as the night was turning into day.

It was a time of reflection. Cody overlooked the events of this evening. His heart was only breaking further as he thought about it more and more. Life was not going to be the same as it was. The one thing he wanted in life was gone and he knew he was not going to get her back.

This evening was supposed to go so well. Cody would finally get the chance to tell Eve how he feels and only hope to hear the same thing back but that was not the case. He turned over to the clock and saw the handle was at just about 5am as the party was beginning to wind down now. He figured he would return downstairs and head home right about now but he was in for a surprise when he turned around.

Under the doorframe, standing right there was Eve. The Latina did not seem too happy with Cody at the moment. She looked upset. Cody stopped in his footsteps and stared down at his prom date, "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be spending your time with Alex?"

"Don't bring in Alex. I came to talk to you," she said at first. "I want to know why you have been acting like such a jerk this entire evening? You were acting so incredibly rude to me and kept bringing Alex into this situation. You were fine up until a point. What is going on?"

"Now you care about me?"

"Cody, I will always care about you. You are my friend. When was there a moment that I did not care about you?" questioned the Latina. "Because I can't find a time."

Cody shrugged it off as he came closer to her, "it's nothing – just leave me alone."

"No!" she got a little louder with Cody, "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what is bothering you."

Could he just really tell her what was on his mind? How could he just explain everything to him without really knowing how to put it to her? He stood there in silence for the moment before deciding to say something.

"It's complicated. You wouldn't want to know," he stared at her. He slowly saw the moonlight shine upon her, "you should be with Alex – after all, he is your boyfriend."

"Why do you keep mentioning him? What has Alex got to do with this? Did he say something to you?"

"No, not at all – it has nothing to do with him at all," lied Cody.

Eve was growing extremely frustrated as the seconds passed by and she had yet to hear any response come from Cody, "then what it is Cody? What? Is it me that you have a problem with?"

He was getting all confused and decided to take a sip of his beer and place it down before answering the question, "it is way too complicated for you to understand. Just go. Alex is probably waiting for you downstairs. He is your real prom date after all."

She was not going down with a fight, "So is this about Alex surprising me at prom?"

He gave in. He could not hold it in more. The words had to come out, "yes! It is about that. I spent the entire night with you and when he comes into the picture, you're suddenly all over him and what happens to me? Nothing. I get pushed to the side. You acted as if I wasn't even there or anything."

"I am sorry if you got hurt. I did not mean for that to happen but you have to understand that I am with Alex. I was just very excited to see him especially since I thought he was still in Houston but that is not all of it –"

"Still, you shouldn't have just ditched me like that. After all we been through together –"

"Where the hell is this going? What are you trying to say?"

Cody had enough. It was time to just let it out and tell her the truth. Like they said, the truth will set you free, right? _Here goes nothing. _"What I am trying to say is that Eve, I am still in love with you –"

Eve was stunned and did not expect any of that to happen right about now. To learn that Cody still has feelings for her was shocking to say the least. She was speechless as she looked at Cody. She slowly back herself toward the wall and continued to stare at Cody in disbelief.

"You still love me?" he nodded in response to her question.

"Eve, I still love you."

The same words were uttered out once again and Eve had painted a face of confusion and shock.

"I don't think I ever stopped loving you. Ever since that night we had in the locker room, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I felt that connection that we once had and it is still there and is here with us right now. Don't tell me you didn't feel anything that night – that night where we made love?"

Eve nodded, "no – I'm with Alex now. We can't discuss that now."

"And now you're bringing him into this situation. This is supposed to be between the two of us and not him," he now decided to play that card. "I know that deep down inside you still have feelings for me and all I am asking for is one last chance to win you back. You and I deserve to be together. We were made for one another."

Eve denied this all, "no, that night was a mistake. I was with Ted at the moment and you were supposed to be with Kelly and we just made a little mistake."

"That is not true Eve and you know it," Cody told her. He was not going to let her get away like that. She was denying it but she knew what he said. "That night you told me you always imagined me being the one who you had your first time with and you did. There must be a reason why you said that. You still have feelings for me. Let's stop this pretending and finally give each other what we want."

"This is not a good idea –"

"And then I asked you to prom for a reason. Not only did you not have a date but also I really wanted to spend it with you. This night was amazing and you cannot deny that. You and I were laughing as if it were like old times all over again. "

Eve could not do this. She was in a relationship with Alex and could not betray him like this. She couldn't ruin what she had with Alex for a single moment with Cody, "we are not having this discussion anymore. What happened before this is over and I am grateful that you were my prom date but Cody, I am in love with someone else now. We had our chance."

"Well, I want a second one," as he approached her, he said, "I know that you still love me and I will prove it to you –"

He gently pushed Eve against the wall and pressed his lips against her. The lips were intertwined at the moment and Cody could not have asked for a better moment. He felt the kiss through his lips and could tell Eve was enjoying this. She had not made one attempt to push him away. Eve had to admit this kiss was amazing and she did not want it to stop. Cody was always a good kisser but she was with Alex. She had put a picture of Alex in her mind and decided she had to end this kiss right now. It was a horrible idea in the first place.

"No," she said as she pushed Cody back. "I have to go. Alex is waiting for me downstairs –"

As Cody fell back from the push, he quickly came back to her and grabbed her by the hand, "you felt something in that kiss, didn't you? Just admit it. You didn't want it to stop!"

"I cannot do this right now. I just can't. I am with Alex. Just, please leave me alone."

"I will not leave you alone. I care about you and I am not giving up on us, Eve. I refuse to give up on you."

"Well, you better realize that it won't," she answered sternly. "Nothing can happen between us and the faster you get it in your head, the faster you can move on."

"Eve –"

"I can't Cody. I just can't –"

With the parting words, Eve had disappeared from his sight. The beautiful Latina had left him speechless and confused. He walked back to the nightstand where he left his beer and placed it to his lips and sipped it. This night was not supposed to go like this. It was supposed to play out so much differently.

But this did not mean he was going to give up this easily. No. He would fight for Eve and he did not care what he would have to do to get her back. He loved her and he knows that deep down inside that she loves him just as much especially after the kiss they just shared.

Cody was going to win Eve back – even if it killed him.

* * *

With the sun beginning to rise over Los Angeles, the part was beginning to wrap up. The guests were beginning to leave Maryse's mansion and the guests would either head home or continue their prom night. As for Kelly, Ted, Maryse and Cody, the four including Evan have decided to head over to a local diner to grab some breakfast. Of course, this breakfast would be the perfect time to discuss the crazy moments this evening.

The only thing was that Evan was supposed to bring his car up in the front about 20 minutes ago and he had not shown up. Kelly stared at her phone, waiting for a phone call or text message. She grew a little worried that Evan had yet to show up. The newspaper editor tends to be a very punctual guy.

"Where is he already? I mean, it has already been 20 minutes. The car is parked only a block or two from your house," said Kelly, who grew more anxious and nervous as the seconds passed on.

"Maybe he's still here?" Ted offered the idea that Evan did not leave yet.

"No, I saw him leave the house and everything. He has to be –"

Speaking of the devil, Evan was now calling Kelly. She did not hesitate to pick up the phone and quickly answered, "Evan, where the hell are you? We've been waiting for you for 20 minutes. Are you at least nearby?"

Silence – she was greeted by silence on the other end of the phone. The blonde looked extremely stumped, "He's on the line but not saying anything," Kelly said to her friends as they each stared with confused looks present on their faces. "Evan, are you there? Can you hear me?"

"Service sometimes is bad over here," Cody had suggested. "Hang up and try calling him back."

Before she could say anything, a loud groan emerged through the speaker of the phone and Kelly was now beginning to get frightened. "Evan?!"

"Kelly – hurry…"

"Evan, what's the matter? Are you okay?" the concern was present in Kelly's tone, feeling confused and worried. "Where are you?!"

"Kelly –"

She turned to her friends and they all knew something was certainly up, "We've got to go and find him. Something is wrong and we need to find him as soon as possible."

"We'll split up," Cody suggested," Kelly and I will head down Palm Drive and you guys take Maple Lane and see if you see anything. Call one of us immediately if you see anything."

"Call us too," reminded the French Canadian.

The four had left the house and went into their separate directions. This was not the ideal way to end her prom night. Running around Beverly Hills in a gown, looking for your boyfriend who may be hurt or injured. This night was supposed to be a fun and special night. Now it had turn into a missing person's investigation.

As Cody and Kelly reached an intersection, Cody turned to Kelly and offered an idea, "I think he told me he parked his car down one of these streets but I am not sure down which way. Should we split up a second? You head down this way and I head down this way."

"Yeah, that should be fine," Kelly managed to spit out. As Cody turned away for the moment, she called to him once again. "Do you think he is okay, Cody? I just have this really weird feeling that something bad has happened."

Cody could not tell her the truth that he may or may not be okay. All he could really do is reassure her that he will be okay, "I am sure he is just fine so don't worry."

She gave him a firm nod as he disappeared into his side of the street. Her body turned around as she began to walk down the street in search of Evan's car. Despite Cody assurance, she was still extremely nervous. For some odd reason, her mind was telling her that something was wrong. Her gut was telling her that tonight would not end up well. Should she prepare herself for the worse or imagine that everything will be okay?

Not to far away from her, she could see Evan's silver car parked just a few more steps away from her. A grin appeared after seeing the car but Kelly would be in for quiet the shock as she came closer. Once close enough, she found Evan lying on the floor. "Evan!" she cried out as she came running to his side but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed the pool of blood appearing.

Kelly had let out the biggest scream possible as she went running to Evan, "oh my god! Evan! Evan, are you alright?" The blonde came down to her knees. His eyes were shut for the moment but she could still hear him breathing.

"Evan, you have to say something. What happened?"

No response. As her eyes traced his body, she could see the two gunshot wounds in Evan's abdomen. She removed her hand off his body and found her hand to be covered in blood. The tears appeared into her eyes and the droplets would crash against Evan's body. She could not give up on him. She needed to hear something come from him.

This must have been what that gut feeling was about. Kelly knew that something was up and this must have been it. Evan was gunned down.

"Evan, it's Kelly. Are you there? Tell me something, anything."

The tear continued to pour down her cheeks. This could not be happening.

It suddenly changed as Evan's eyes began to flutter opened. With excitement, Kelly lifted Evan's head onto her lap. He continued to flutter them open, staring at Kelly. Despite the horrible situation, he managed to put on a smile and finally came to say something, "Kelly, you're here."

"Of course I'm here –"

"I am going to call an ambulance now and you are going to be just fine – do you hear me? Everything is going to be just fine."

Kelly could still see Evan's phone still lying down beside him. She reached for it and was about to dial for help but the phone's battery had just died. Evan turned over and saw the phone was dead, "I guess I only had enough juice to call you."

She pulled out her phone but just like his, the battery was dying. As she turned over, she had this feeling coming over her. These cold feelings, making her feel incredibly empty. This could not be it. This could not. The tears rushed down her cheeks as Evan could only smile, which confused Kelly.

"Can you lift me up? Put me against the car."

Evan requested that he be moved up against the car. She did as she was told. In the process, she got blood onto her dress and tried not to hurt Evan at all. With whatever strength he had left, he tried to keep his body up. Kelly on the other hand had lost all strength. The tears flowed down her cheeks, ruining her make up.

"I have to get help Evan. I have to go call someone. Cody went down the other way. I will got get him and we will call you an ambulance so they can make me better."

She was getting up from the kneeling position she was in but Evan pulled her back with his hand, "Kelly, don't go. There is no use. I need you here."

When he said those very words, Kelly knew that this evening was not going to end well whatsoever. Tonight was going to be a different night. She returned to her original position and stared him right in the eyes, "what do you mean that there is no use? Evan, you're going to be fine."

He decided to take this conversation into a much different light, "you know, you were the most beautiful girl at prom today. No one looked as gorgeous as you did. I think it is safe to say that I had the best prom date."

"Evan –"

He clutched a free hand of hers and told her to, "shh!" he took a moment to pause and said, "It is my turn to talk. You've had your chance to same something and now I have to say it."

This could not be happening like this right now. It just could not.

"Kelly, you were the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I am so lucky that I got the chance to meet you, to be friends with you – and to love you," he took a gasp of air, as he began to feel more faint as his energy was draining. "I lived a good life. I lived an amazing life. Sometimes, people are not lucky but I was. I was beyond lucky. Even tonight – I have no words to describe how amazing it was. I have you to thank for that. You have been by my side. Thank you, Kelly – thank you for everything."

His emotional last words brought Kelly to a sobbing cry. None of this could be happening right now. How could it be? Tears streamed down her face and Evan lifted his hand up, wiping away the one tear that was coming down.

"Please don't cry," he placed his hand down. "No tears."

Evan could feel his time was coming to an end. This was it. The last stretch and he had to make the most of it. "Kelly, I did not tell anyone this but I was going to dedicate my speech to you. You were the inspiration for the whole thing so I had to dedicate it to you."

"To me?" a surprised Kelly answered, "why me?"

"Because I love you, Kelly –"

Just as he was about to take his last breathe of air, Evan had his final words, " – And always know that you'll have a special place in my heart."

As his eyes began to close, his heartbeat slowed down and he released his last breathe of air and said goodbye to this life. His grip on Kelly's hand was released and this was when Kelly received the message. Evan closed his eyes and was being greeted by a bright white light.

Evan Bourne was gone.

Kelly placed her body next to Evan's, leaning her head onto his shoulder and grabbing his lifeless hand and holding it so tightly. The tears rushed down her cheeks as if it were a river and could not do anything else. Evan was no longer with her. He would simply be an everlasting memory in her heart and soul.

Cody would soon discover Kelly and the lifeless Evan. All he saw was a lifeless Evan bleeding with his eyes closed and Kelly crying beside him. No one had to tell him anything else for him to understand what had occurred. One of his best friends was gone.

Just in time, Ted and Maryse soon appeared. Cody turned around. His expression had disbelief written all over it. Maryse decided to ask, "Is everything okay? Have you found Evan?"

Cody's watery eyes did not tell a nice story. He simply nodded with a no and walked right by the two of them for a moment to himself. Onto a tree, he held his body and could only allow the tears to come down his face. His best friend was no longer with him.

Ted and Maryse soon discovered Evan's body right there and the rest of the story was told. Maryse felt her knees feeling weak. With her hands, she covered her mouth. Tears appeared and sobs were heard. Ted, for the first time ever, shed a tear. A tear came down his face but he needed to stay strong for the others. He wrapped his arms around Maryse, holding the hysterical blonde in her arms. He embraced her during this difficult time.

Kelly on the other hand got the opportunity to hear his final words and be there for his final moments. This night was not supposed to end like this. Not at all.

Evan Bourne had a saying about life: "live life with no regrets." He always had the plan of living up to the quote.

His spirit exited his human body and traveled upward. His bones were ignited and lights were going to guide him home. Upward into the sky where he could see just about anything through the white clouds. Though his death was unpredictable, he lived an interesting life up till this point. He made every day worth something. He made every day special. He lived his life to the absolute fullest.

He was lucky enough to meet some amazing people he was lucky enough to call his friends – friends that he will now watch over and keep safe.

As much as he wishes he could continue his journey on earth, his job was done. He clocked in 18 years ago and was clocking out now. He did what he had to do. He put in his final hours of work and now it was time to head home – to a new home.

Yeah – Evan Bourne always had a saying about life: "live life with no regrets." And boy did he live up to that.

* * *

**A/N:** So, you can all hate me now. I do not even blame you. I just felt my old idea was too predictable and I wanted to do something a little different. Only 6 more chapters left! And to everyone, have a happy and healty new year! All the best and thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing!

_Next Chapter - Emotional days lie ahead for the gang with Evan's funeral and their last day at West Beverly_


	50. Bourne to Fly

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Fifty - Bourne to Fly_

Today was the last day of school – the last day of senior year but this year was much different from past years. Sure, the tone around school was odd this time around. Kelly Blank's mind ran with so many different emotions.

So many awkward stares of compassion were present all around her. Her fellow classmates would stop talking as she came by to begin the final day of senior year. The day was bittersweet. A day where she should be rejoicing and celebrating with her friends was spent in mourning. The blotchy eyeliner around her eyes added proof to the tears she had been shedding.

Kelly had lost a piece of her heart just days ago and it was only normal that she acted as if a part of her was gone. The ghost-like expression was sketched on her face as she walked by.

This was not supposed to end like this. Life was not supposed to go this way but then again, life is never the way you plan it. This loss was incredibly heart wrenching. Evan was a person she could honestly say she loved – her first true love. Now, he was gone and here she was to pick up the pieces of her life and try to put it back together somehow.

The television screens that filled the hallway soon all turned on. The news was labeled as a special report and here to report on the news was West Beverly's news reporter Tiffany Terrell. The blonde had looked upset as she began her special report.

"_Good morning West Bevers – this is Tiffany Terrell with a special report. A few nights ago the West Beverly community lost a very important member of our student body – Evan Bourne. Evan was unfortunately gunned down on prom night. Principal McMahon and the entire faculty and student body would like to extend our condolences to Evan's family during this difficult time –"_

Tiffany took a moment, getting herself together. She was visibly upset. It was difficult to hold back the tears she wanted to let out. Tiffany knew how passionate Evan was for journalism and doing this would make him extremely proud.

"– _Evan was a big part of the West Beverly community. Evan ran both the West Beverly newspaper and channel. His input into both organizations has brought the school to new heights. Evan Bourne is also this year's valedictorian as he was the best performing senior. We all here at West Bev will deeply miss the enthusiastic and bright student. This evening, a wake will be held for Evan at the Holden Funeral home from 4 – 6pm and 7 – 10pm and tomorrow morning the funeral will be held at St. Luke's church at 10am. If you have the opportunity, we deeply encourage those who can to attend to do so. In the midst of this tragedy, we would like to warn everyone to be extra careful when outside. Tune in later today for the final report of the school years – until then, take care wildcats."_

The screens returned back to the picture of the West Beverly Wildcat and the students of West Beverly returned to their daily routine for the last time this year. Kelly was very pleased with the special news report. She knew Evan would have liked that. As she continued down the hallway, she would be surprised at the sight she would encounter.

Right outside the media room, where the West Beverly Newspaper and Channel would meet was a memorial. A photograph of Evan rested on a school desk that was surrounded by different things. Balloons, candles, a huge wildcat, flowers, little notes and a yearbook rested right beside his photograph. A few of the students would sign it and leave it.

She could feel her heart wrenching at the sight of this all. Approaching the memorial, she noticed more photographs. Photos included her as well with all of her friends. She reached for the photograph of Evan. Her arm was shaking abruptly.

This was going to be a lot harder than she though. She trembled with fear but soon that fear had turned into pain. Her body couldn't support herself any longer and Kelly eventually came crashing to her knees. The entire school witnessed Kelly experience a hysterical nervous breakdown. The tears rolled out as the sobs echoed out of her mouth.

Lucky for her, she had a strong support system that was not too far away. Tiffany appeared from the media room as Eve, Nikki and Maryse came through the hallway to help their fallen friend. The crowds of students watched as Eve and Nikki pulled Kelly help and helped her into the media room that Tiffany had opened up. Maryse quickly placed the picture of Evan back onto the desk and rushed to the media room. She quickly shut the door.

Kelly body's crashed to the floor once again but Nikki and Eve were quick to pull her up onto the couch. The two sat by her side while Tiffany and Maryse sat on the coffee table in front of her.

"Why did this have to happen? I don't understand –"

Maryse spoke first, "Kelly, try to be strong."

"How can I be strong? I have had my entire life just ripped apart into shreds. Now I am a complete mess and I'm all alone."

Eve decided to peak in this time with something to say, "You are not alone. You are far from alone, Kelly. You've got your family and you've got us. We're here for you Kelly."

"We know what your going through is very difficult. None of us can imagine how you are feeling," said Nikki Bella, hoping her words could help mend her wounds. "But know one thing – that we will always be here for you."

"You're our friend," said Tiffany. "We will stick by you through this whole thing."

As the girls gave Kelly more strength, the door to the media room creaked open. Principal Stephanie McMahon was beside the door, looking down at the students. Stephanie spotted the distraught blonde, "hello girls. I don't meant to interrupt anything but I was hoping I could speak to Kelly for a moment. You girls can stay – what I have to tell her doesn't require privacy."

The girls made room for their principal. Tiffany and Maryse stood up, allowing Principal McMahon to sit beside them and speak, "Kelly, I just want to extend my condolences to you. Evan was such a bright and pleasant student. He is definitely going to be missed around here. I can't even imagine what you are going through."

Kelly found it hard to look up and face her principal but as she went on, Kelly's head bounced back and she had direct eye contact with her principal, "I came in to talk to you about something. It's a question I would like to ask you."

"What do you have to ask me?"

Stephanie McMahon had quiet a proposition for Kelly and in light of the disaster that had occurred, she believed her proposal would be kindly accepted.

"As you know, Evan was scheduled to be our valedictorian for the graduating class. He truly deserved that honor and the day before he passed, he had sent me a copy of his speech. It is a beautiful speech by the way. So what I was proposing was that maybe you should be the one to recite the speech? I know you and Evan were very close and I could not think of a better person to hold this honor – so what do you say, Kelly? Will you do it?"

That was an honor. For Principal McMahon to ask her something like that was truly special. Kelly knew how much that speech meant to Evan. He had spent so many sleepless nights trying to put it together.

But then it also did not feel right to go and do something like that. It meant no disrespect to Evan but that was his speech. He put in the time to writing it out. She thought that maybe it felt wrong to go and do something like that.

This was a difficult answer to give during such a difficult time. It was best that she just sit on it for a little. Kelly wiped away a tear that was falling and turned to her principal for an answer, "honestly, I think I'll need some time to make a decision if that is okay?"

Principal McMahon offered a reassuring smile, "yes, take all the time you need. Graduation isn't until next weekend."

This was a huge decision and could possibly be the proper way to truly honor Evan.

* * *

She tightly held the West Beverly yearbook in her hands as she walked through the hallways. After just receiving it, Eve was eager to get someone to sign it. She tried her uttermost hardest to cope with Evan's death so she wanted to distract herself and focus on other things.

Evan was such a good friend to Eve and losing him was extremely difficult. She remembered sitting in her living room when she got the frantic phone call from Maryse about what had happened. As she sat there, she could only shed tears over the death of her good friend. Despite the pain, Eve wanted to somehow overcome it. She had to find the brighter things in life to think about but it was hard.

Keeping a straight face, she continued down the hallway dressed in her white sundress and could see the faces of happiness and had to focus on that. She lost her focus as she got to the end of the hallway and she found someone looking at the memorial that was in place for Evan – It was Cody.

Despite the tragic events, Eve did not forget what had happen between her and Cody on prom night. Cody's confession and the kiss they shared lingered in her mind. All this time, Cody still had feelings for her and the kiss proved it. The kiss also proved something else – that she may possibly still have feelings for Cody as well. The feelings she once had may still remain. But the situation was far more complex than that – Alex Riley was in the picture as well.

She heart was divided into two. Half of it belonged to Alex while the other half belonged to Cody. She had to give hundred percent to one of them but she did not know who to give it too.

Alex and her had developed a strong bond over the last few months but Cody and her had something so much different. They had a deep-rooted history. Since that kiss, she could not but help and question her relationship with Alex. Maybe she wasn't meant to be with him?

The Latina continued to watch Cody. The hurt was present. Words could not describe what he was going through and Eve saw it all by taking a simple look at him. He slowly turned his body around and he came face to face with Eve as they stood at the opposite ends of the hallway. The moment of awkwardness was quickly broken when Eve had a visitor.

"Eve, babe – I'm here."

Through the hallway came Eve's boyfriend came through and greeted the beautiful Latina with a sweet kiss. The moment after the kiss, Eve watched as Cody slowly disappeared from her sight. Surely the sight of the two of them was something he was not interested in staring at.

Eve then decided to place her attention onto Alex who put his arm over her shoulder, walking toward the courtyard full of students, "so, how does it feel? Your last day of high school – ever."

"Yeah, it feels alright."

The college student took notice of her behavior and felt guilty over what he asked knowing she was going through something hard, "oh, sorry babe. Evan is still on your mind, right? Sorry I was acting so cheerful."

"No – don't apologize. Yeah, Evan's on my mind but I should be happy right. I need to get my mind off of sad things."

Alex believed that maybe now was the right time to share some news with Eve. The news would certainly cheer her up, "I got something that might cheer you up. It's pretty huge news and I think you may really like it – that's if you want to hear it?"

Some good news would be a blessing to hear right about now and it may help Eve get her mind off of things, "what do you have to tell me?"

"Unfortunately, I will not be here this summer. I got accepted into this study abroad program and I'll be spending my summer studying in Barcelona but hold on, there's a lot more to it. The program also takes incoming college freshmen and the program is still taking applicants so I was thinking why don't you apply and come spend the summer with me in Barcelona?" The idea was a bit drastic but Alex was beyond serious, "I know it sounds crazy but think about it."

The offer was certainly one that was once in a lifetime. The opportunity to study in Barcelona is astonishing, especially when you are with someone really special. It may be the perfect thing to do to get her mind off of everything that has happened and put her onto a brighter pathway.

Alex's expression said a thousand things but he obviously wanted her to come along on the journey with him. It would be to difficult to just see him get her so she had to accept the offer, "I am going to do it."

"Wait, your not kidding right? This is actually happening. You just said yes to spending the entire summer with me in Spain?"

She giggled, "yes, I will be spending the entire summer with you in Spain."

To celebrate, he immediately pulled her into a kiss to show his appreciation, "you don't know how happy you just made me. You and I are going to have the best summer of our lives. Sign up today because we are set to leave really soon."

"I'll do that just as I get home. I'm sure my parents will be pretty excited for me. They went to Spain and absolutely loved it," Eve came closer to Alex. "And we are going to make this the best summer of our lives, right?"

"You betcha."

Eve pulled out her yearbook from her hands and handed it to Alex, "and you must sign my yearbook. No one has gotten the chance to do so and I think you should be the first one."

* * *

"Of all pictures, did they have to put this one? My hair is a mess – I look like scary spice."

Mouthing off as usual, Maryse certainly had a few words for the yearbook. She made her way through the pages to find that the yearbook committee placed an embarrassing photo of herself. Maryse Ouellet did not approve. As the crowds of students were filling the entrance of the school, the French Canadian focused her attention toward Ted who was looking rather somber while sitting on a picnic table.

Maryse placed down her yearbook and took a hold of Ted's hand, "babe, is there something wrong?"

"It is just – I cannot believe it, Maryse. How did all of this just happen? How can someone allow this to happen? This is not right. Evan did not have to suffer. Why is life so cruel?"

Ted was still suffering from Evan's loss as it had a tremendous affect on his life. Evan and him were close. It was just this feeling he was having. He kept on questioning everything now – including life itself.

"Evan – he was just a kid and he gets his life taken away. Why is life so unfair?"

Maryse was unaware of how she could handle this situation but she had to be truthful to her boyfriend. "I don't know what I could tell you but the truth. Sometime life is unfair but then you have to think about some of the things that are fair and make you lucky."

"But he was young."

"He was young and deserved to live a long life. But I don't want you to think that life is always unfair when it is not. Be happy that you have good health, great friends, a house to live in because there are people who don't even have that," admitted the French Canadian. "I don't even know where I could begin with this all."

"I understand but why do they have to take away people who are good? Why not those who kill? Why do they deserve to live?"

She could see the trembling in his lip and could not believe the tears he began to shed, "Evan was one of my great friends. He was a guy I knew that would always be by my side through everything. He should have not been taken away like this. I am going to miss that kid."

In a natural reaction, Maryse wrapped her arm around Ted and wanted to support him, "I am going to miss him so much too. I don't know why he had to go and I don't think any of us will have an answer to that. He was such a great guy but you know he may not still physically with us but he his here in spirit and is going to watch over all of us. I can guarantee you that."

"Your definitely right," admitted the football star. He pulled himself up and faced his girlfriend with his eyes a little puffy. "I look like a wimp, don't I?"

"You are not a wimp. Ted, you lost a good friend. No one thinks you're a wimp. I don't think you're a wimp. If you ask me, your one of the bravest people I know. You're a strong person and shedding a few tears does not make you any less of a man."

He smiled back at the blonde who provided him with some reassuring news that explained to him that everything would be okay, "I still think tonight and tomorrow is going to be hard but I am going to get through it."

"We all are," said Maryse as she took her yearbook and handed to him. "You did not sign this yet and I think now would be a good time."

* * *

" – _And beginning this fall, West Beverly will be serving lattes and cappuccinos in the cafeteria so we have something to look forward to when we come back after the summer."_

As Tiffany was concluding her final West Beverly Channel news report, she could feel that overwhelming feeling come over her. Was it really all coming to an end? The camera crew signaled toward Tiffany to wrap up the show but despite the notions, she could only imagine that it was Evan standing right before her.

She visualized him standing right before the camera, smiling away as yet another report was coming to an end. He lived and breathed journalism and she only wish he could be sitting next to him while she broadcasted the final report.

"_And that my fellow Wildcats will wrap up our last report for the year. For our seniors, you will be greatly missed and for our returning students, we look forward to seeing you again. This is Tiffany Terrell, signing off one last time. Have a great summer, Wildcats."_

As the camera cut, the crew and Tiffany had cheered in happiness over the success of their final report. As they began to fan out quickly, Jack made his way into the room to surprise Tiffany.

"Hey! Did you catch the last report?" asked Tiffany when she greeted Jack with a kiss.

"It was great. I think Evan would have been so proud of you," he coiled his lips into a smile. "He is smiling right now."

"I was imagining him in the room with me. Anytime I would do the report, he would stand right before the camera and I looked at that very spot he would always stand at and imagined he was right there."

With everything that happened, Tiffany could never accept that Evan was gone. In their history class, she turned around expecting to see him but only saw an empty desk. During their third period break; she would always see him at the lockers. They were right next to each other. Today, she expected to see him but that didn't happen.

And now she was during the final report and just expected to see him when she came into the room however she was in for a sad awakening.

"Jack, it's just something I cannot process yet. I cannot process in my mind that he is actually gone," there was that somber tone that accompanied her words. "You just think he is going to come right through the door or be sitting right behind you but he's not."

Tiffany took a seat at the nearest available desk and Jack came forth to comfort his girlfriend. He held both of her hands and told her, "I don't think none of us are going to accept that he is actually gone. All we got now is each other and the good times we had with him."

"Just, life can be so cruel sometimes."

"Nobody wants to admit it but it is true. Life can be cruel. But I know Evan would not want us to act like this. He would want us to be happy and remember those good memories we had with him."

Jack was definitely right. In this dark time in their lives, they had to look past the negative and reflect on the positives. They had to remember Evan as the person he was. He was kind, funny, respectful, sweet, charming – the list can go on and on.

Jack was going to remember Evan for his determination and as Tiffany gazed around the room, she had chosen to remember Evan as the passionate guy she always known him to be.

* * *

Picking out room colors was supposed to be an easy task that did not require much thought but when you don't know if your having a boy or a girl because your husband insists it be a surprise, the task just got a lot harder.

A six-month pregnant Torrie was out on the patio, enjoying a light snack and staring at a few paint samples that have got her mind in a twist. Her mind told her to listen to John but next time that will not be the case. Torrie was enjoying the peaceful afternoon as both Nathan and Ella we're spending some quality time with John's parents, which left her free as a bird.

That suddenly changed as she could hear the sliding doors from the living room being opened. John would grace her presence. John had completed his final day of West Beverly for the school year and had the entire summer to himself, Torrie and his family.

"You're still trying to pick a color? I told you why not go for green? Green is a pretty neutral color," insisted John as he came and pulled a seat beside his wife.

"This is not an easy decision. How could I let you talk me into keeping the baby's sex a mystery? We didn't do that with Nathan or Ella," complained Torrie. She could only express the disapproval over the decision she had made.

"But don't you want to be surprised when it happens? All this anticipation will pay off once you see the baby."

"Your right," the reluctant Torrie managed to agree. "Anyways, how was work? Today was the last day. I wish I could be there but I am officially on maternity leave and someone else has taken over. The seniors must have been really happy."

He scratched his head as he leaned back in his seat, "They might have been happy. Everyone was a little off today since Evan's passing. They have this really nice memorial for him in the hallway too."

"It is so bittersweet."

"But I have some other news that is pretty bittersweet too."

Her brow shot up, "bittersweet news?" What could John possibly be talking about? She could only hope the news is not as devastating.

"I had a quick meeting with the J.V football team about the summer tryouts and after I had the talk, I got approached by someone. His name was Derrick Lancer and he was a recruiter. He was a recruiter for Santa Barbara University and he asked me if I would be interested in the head coach position for their football team."

"What?!"

Torrie was absolutely shocked by the news John was giving her at the moment. This was undeniably amazing. Torrie understood John's passion for football and knew he was excited. The smile was giving away everything. John was honored to have received an offer like this. There was nothing more in the world that he wanted and this was finally his chance. After all the hard work, everything was beginning to get paid off.

"Yeah, he told me that the team was scouting for a new coach after they fired the last one. Derrick told me he was impressed with my ability to handle a team and he wants me to know if I was interested in the position," and this is where it got difficult.

She could notice his sudden pause and knew what this was about. He wanted an approval before he could go ahead, "and this is the part where you need some authorization from me right?"

"I didn't tell him anything yet. I told him I would give a decision by tomorrow after I discussed it with you," John revealed more details. "I really would like this Tor. Sure, this would have to mean that we would have to move and you would have to quit your job but this is a huge opportunity. I am coaching my own team – a college football team."

"I understand John –"

"The season only lasts half a year so the other half I will be able to spend time with you and the kids. Derrick said he would also help us find a perfect house for us and did I mention the pay? I am talking a six figure salary here with full benefits for you, me and the kids – come on Tor, what do you say?"

His hands rested on the table and soon Torrie would join in and place her hands on top of his. She could see the look in his eyes and know that he really wanted this. How could she take this way from him?

"Remember when I opened my store in New York and you came with me. You realized how important it was to me and you came along on the adventure. I look into your eyes and can see that this means a lot to you and now it is my turn to do something for you. Take the job."

"Wait, are you serious?"

She nodded with a laugh, "yes! I am serious – call him up and tell him you will be taking that job."

It was about time they had received some good news despite the recent events.

He could not contain the excitement and proceed to press his lips against Torrie's as a signal of celebration. As he pulled way, he told her, "you don't know how happy you have made me. You, Nathan, Ella, the new baby and I are going to be beyond happy when we move to Santa Barbara. Thank you for doing this Tor."

"Your welcome."

The feeling was bittersweet. Los Angeles had been her home for so long and leaving it would be difficult but then again, she would be starting fresh in another city that is just as beautiful as Beverly Hills. There are countless memories here that she'll cherish forever but it was time to make some new ones.

"I have got to call Derrick right now and tell him the great news. Then I've got to call my parents and Randy too! Randy is going to kill me when he hears the news –"

With John getting a bit carried away, Torrie had the duty to remind him that he had to call Derrick before any of those people, "call Derrick first before anyone else. Then we can do all the celebrating."

John smirked before pulling out his cell phone and heading back inside the house. Torrie sat in her backyard enjoying the late afternoon, as she wouldn't be in this backyard for much longer.

* * *

Some of the toughest days of her life were lying right before her and she had just completed one – probably one of the hardest ones.

Following Evan's wake, Kelly had returned home with her family as well as Eve. Since the horrible night, one of the girls has stayed with Kelly and tonight it was Eve's turn. The pair were headed up the stairs – Kelly in front – and headed straight for Kelly's room. Kelly's parents, step-mom, Torrie and John all remained downstairs as they watched the two ladies head up.

Once in Kelly's room, Kelly had quickly sat on her bed. Her eyes were in a puffy red state. The tears rolling down her face were on a constant repeat for the evening when she was greeted by Evan's relatives and her friends. There was a tremendous out pour of support during the difficult time.

She could remember all the people coming to her and Evan's parents with condolences over the tragic loss. She was surprised by some of the support – to see people she thought she had differences with but yet they arrived. She was also incredibly lucky to have such a great support system. All of her friends had been right by her side during the difficult time and she could not have been happier.

Even with the tremendous amount of support, there was an empty place in her heart that was only getting larger. Despite the strong support system, she couldn't help but feel weak and vulnerable.

As Eve shut the door to her bedroom, she pulled up beside Kelly and took the empty spot beside her. Both ladies were in simple black dresses as a sign of respect. Eve could see the smudged make up over her eyes and offered her a tissue, "take this. Might want to wipe some of that makeup off."

"Thanks," she barely took the tissue and dapped her cheeks with the dry tissue and took off some of the mascara.

"I want to ask you something but I'm afraid you may get upset."

Kelly nodded, "ask me. I'll answer it."

Eve was just curious so she decided to ask, "how did it feel? You know, when those people come to you telling you're their condolences. Was it hard to hear it?"

Thinking of the question, she wanted to give an honest answer that her friend deserved, "I felt as if I was important – like I made a difference in someone's life. I felt needed and appreciated. Sure, it was not easy to hear but people were trying to be nice. I mean, what else are you supposed to say?"

"But you seemed to be pretty composed tonight as well."

"I'm starting to think that maybe I went through the hardest part and that I will be okay tomorrow. I might really be okay."

Eve could only compliment her friend, "you're a really tough person, you know that?"

But Kelly could not agree with Eve on that point. She was not strong. She was just like any other person who was dealing with a loss, "I am not as strong as I may let on."

Eve honestly thought that maybe Kelly was going to be okay after this all but she could not predict the future. Eve rose from her seat when she remembered something, "I left my things in the car. I am going to run down and get them and maybe you and I can make some tea or something – get us nice and relaxed."

Eve perked up from the bed and left the room. She went down the same stairs and out the front door to find her car. As she scrambled through the car, she found her bag and could see her phone had a message waiting for her. It was a text message from her mother. She opened the message. _You may still be at the funeral home so I did not want to call. Just wanted to let you know that we got off the phone with CU just a moment ago. Everything is set – your going to Barcelona! We could not hold back the news and had to tell you. I'll start looking at flights but we'll see you at the funeral tomorrow. Love you._

As she shut her phone, her jaw had literally dropped. This could not really be happening. The opportunity of a lifetime had arrived and she could not turn away the prospect. Spending her summer in Barcelona – one of the most breathtaking cities on this planet? It was a dream come true.

But when one dream is moments away from happening, there may be something in the way from stopping it. Eve shut the door to her car, grabbing her bag and as turned around she caught the glimpse of someone she was not expecting.

"Cody…"

There they were. The two of them were standing right before each other and in the middle of a stare down. Still clothed in a black suit and tie, Cody was making her descent down Kelly's driveway and toward Eve. Surely this moment was going to be awkward. The two had barely made any sort of contact since prom night.

With everything that has happened, there was never a chance to discuss what had happened. Eve thought there was nothing to talk about this but every time she saw him, she some sort of desire arise. What did it mean? She did not know.

Cody was certainly surprised to find Eve standing in the driveway and decided it was best to respond, "Hey Eve."

"What are you doing here?"

"Kelly left this," Cody raised his hand to reveal a shawl that he found at the funeral home. "I was driving home and I thought I would stop by and drop this off."

Cody came forward and handed the shawl over to Eve. She accepted the shawl and Cody could feel his heart racing just as he was getting close to her. There unfinished business was killing him slowly. It drove him crazy knowing that he could not be with her but he felt relieved when he was finally able to admit it to her. The little thing going on between them was certainly far from over.

"Thanks for dropping it by."

Cody nodded and said, "no problem." He bit gently down on his lip before speaking yet again. "So you're staying with Kelly tonight? That is really nice of you girls to be doing this for her. She is lucky to have you as friends. How is she doing?"

"Kelly is my friend and I am going to be there for her no matter what. As of now, she is holding up pretty well. She told me before that she might really be ready for tomorrow but regardless it is going to be a tough day for everyone."

"Yeah –"

Eve knew how close Evan and Cody were despite what had happened between the two of them and could sense he was suffering from the pain of losing Evan. Deciding it was a good idea, she wanted to know how he was doing, "but how is everything with you? Are you handling it well?"

Losing one of your best friends was far from easy. Cody thought this was a good time to get out his feelings. After all, holding in how you feel is never a good idea.

"It's difficult – I am not going to lie. I never had to deal with losing someone really close to me ever and the first person I ever lose is my best friend. I am eighteen years old and I never had to deal with death but this is a part of life. You live and then you die – I just didn't think it would happen this soon for Evan."

"Your right."

Cody quickly ended the conversation and decided it was best to head home to prepare himself for the long day ahead, "I am going to head home. Tomorrow is not going to be an easy day so I need some rest. Will you give Kelly my best?"

She responded with a nod, "yes, I'll pass the message along to her. Have a good night and I will see you tomorrow."

Eve began to journey toward the front door as Cody remained standing as still as a statue in the midst of Kelly's driveway. Eve opened the door before taking one last long stare at Cody. The two had their eyes locked to one another. An expression of sadness laid upon their faces until Eve ultimately shut the door and left Cody only.

Cody was alone. With his hands in his pocket, he started down the driveway and into the darkness. He could feel he was losing touch with her. He already lost his friend and now he may be losing the love of his life.

* * *

Nikki Bella did not like funeral homes. It carried some painful memories but in the end of the day, she managed to get through it and when the evening's events concluded, she was walking back to her car.

She only knew Evan for only a year but she always knew he was a very special person. She always found him to be a smart, respectful and charming individual. She just felt bad that she did not know him longer. Whatever time she spent with Evan was always a rewarding experience. He sense of humor kept her laughing while his dedication kept her motivated when he helped tutor for some classes.

Nikki was certainly going to miss him.

Losing Evan was not the only thing that disrupted her life but was someone else's betrayal. Since prom night, Nikki cannot remove the image of Brie and Dolph in bed with one another. Questions rushed through her mind as she wondered why Dolph would do that? And how could her sister Brie betray her after there heartfelt reunion?

The true intentions behind her sister's return were made known. It truly made her sick to her stomach on how her sister could have done something like this. Her goal for coming back to Beverly Hills was to create chaos and destruction and she truly succeeded. Dolph and her were no more and the relationship between the two twins had been liquidated.

As for Dolph, there could not be a future between the two of them. It was impossible to repair the damage that was made. Just as she thought she would be putting Dolph behind her, Nikki discovered her ex-boyfriend standing beside her car.

Immediately, she froze but soon began taking steps forward closer to her car and Dolph. Dolph seemed pretty excited to see her. Even on their last day of school, he didn't have a chance to see her and this may be the very first encounter.

Dolph had made a major mistake. Regardless of what Brie had done to him, he was still at fault and had to make amends. How could he be so stupid to have done something like this?

Nikki was not going to allow him to have him say anything. Just as he was going to open his mouth, she stopped him, "don't say anything. There is nothing you can say that can fix anything."

"Nikki, could we just talk about it?" pleaded the blonde.

"There is nothing to talk about. Your actions spoke a hell of a lot louder than your words. We're over, Dolph –"

"But –"

She did not even respond. She walked right passed him and into the car. She could still see him in the rearview window but eventually disappeared. Nikki took a quick look into the mirror as tears began to develop in her eyes. The droplets came rushing down her cheeks and she could no longer compose herself. This was her life crashing down right before her eyes.

As for Dolph, he stuck his hands in his pocket and walked down the parking lot and just like Nikki, he saw someone standing beside his car waiting for him. The girl looked exactly like Nikki but it was not her – it was her sister.

"Hey there Dolph – I've been looking all over for you everywhere."

Brie had the devious expression printed across her face yet again. It was becoming quiet the trademark for her. Dolph did not even respond to that before she went at it once again, "Dolph – aren't you going to say hello?"

Brie came closer and began to play with his jacket a little before saying, "listen – I have been thinking a lot about you lately and I was thinking that maybe you and I should get back to where we left off."

"Where did we leave off?"

"I think you were on top of me, kissing my neck and slowly undoing my bra?" Dolph did not even respond but kept silence. He could not believe the mess he got himself into. He lost Nikki for the stupidest reasons. With no response from Dolph, Brie went on, "so what do you say?"

Dolph had it to about here, "I say you leave me alone. Do you realize what you did? You know, I am at fault just as much as you but you do not feel any sort of remorse for Nikki that you're still hitting on me?"

"Nikki got what she deserved."

He found himself growing angry at Brie over her harsh comments, "How can you say that? You ruined her life and now your beginning to ruin mine. Nikki was all I had going for me and you ruined that."

"You don't mean that Dolph."

"I do mean that. Get the hell away from me. I want nothing to do with you."

This was not part of her plan. After the destruction of Nikki, Dolph was supposed to come running into her arms. They were supposed to be together. Her plan was ultimately breaking apart.

"I'm sorry okay? But can we –"

"You should not be apologizing to me. You do not owe me one but Nikki certainly deserves one instead."

His final words left an everlasting touch on Brie. Dolph directed himself into the car and pulled out of the parking spot. He stopped for a second and took one last look at Brie. He certainly hoped that would be the last time he would see her. He pulled away and left Brie.

Brie stood their, taking note of everything Dolph had to say. The success of her plan was supposed to lead to bliss but it was a complete failure.

* * *

Saying goodbye was never easy. As Kelly placed on her black dress, pulled on her flats and brushed her silky blonde hair, she was mentally preparing herself for the day that was on hand. The car was waiting for her downstairs. She grabbed a pack of tissues and slipped it into her purse. They would definitely come in handy.

She pulled open the door to her bedroom before turning back to stare at it. So many memories of Evan were present here. Her eyes slowly scanned the room before the final thing she saw was the picture she had on her dresser of the two of them. They were so happy.

As she shut the door, she followed the stairs down to the main hall to find Eve, her parents, her stepmother, Torrie and John joining her. All of who did not share a single smile but were remorseful. As she came down, they split into two cars. Torrie, John and Christine in one – while Ted, Kendra, Eve and Kelly shared the other.

Kelly had yet to say a word but choose to stare out the window, staring at the houses as they journeyed to the funeral home. She could not help but remember the night it all had occurred.

_The lights of the sirens flashed all across the houses on Lexington lane. The siren noises woke some of the residents. Some residents had gotten out of their homes to find their street occupied by ambulances and police cars. As they came out, they were stopped by the yellow tape and an officer explaining to them the situation at hand. The neighbors were shocked to hear that someone had been gunned down on their street._

_As the neighbors gathered, the police had reported to the scene of the crime. Kelly was standing by with Cody, Ted and Maryse. The police officer was taking witness accounts in order to begin an investigation. Kelly had described what had happened and the officer made way with despite the tears and sobs confusing what she was saying. _

_The police officer had finished up his report and kindly asked Kelly to stay a little while longer. The four friends had stared in disbelief. They watched as the coroner loaded Evan onto the stretcher and proceeded to the ambulance. The tears continued to rush down Kelly's face as she could no longer compose herself. _

_She rushed to the stretcher and cried out, "Evan – no! You cannot be gone. Evan, please come back to me." The coroner had held her back until Cody came to pull her back as the coroners loaded his body into the vehicle, "You can't leave me like this – please Evan!_

_Maryse found herself crashing her face into Ted's body, sobbing away and all Ted could do was hold her tightly. Kelly watched as the ambulance drove away but Cody still hung onto her. Her life was crashing right there before her. As the car traveled further, she found herself feeling weak._

_Suddenly she found herself running out of Cody's arms and into somebody else's. John and Torrie had arrived at the scene. Torrie could no compose herself, as she knew what had happened. She rushed to her sister's side and quickly held her._

"_Kelly, I am so sorry –"_

_Kelly could no longer hold it in either as she cried out, "He's gone, Torrie. Evan is gone. Why? Why did he have to go?!" she asked questions that Torrie and nobody else could have answers too. No one knows when someone dies or why someone dies. Life can certainly been cruel._

"_I don't know what to tell you Kelly."_

_Maryse came up and entered the hug the Torrie and Kelly were in the midst of. Soon, Ted and Cody had followed and eventually John could no longer hold it in and joined the group in an emotional hug. These next days would be difficult and they needed all the support they could get. _

Before she knew it, she found herself at the funeral home. The car had directly pulled up and Kelly could see the turnover was very large. Evan had touched so many lives in the time he had with us all. The funeral home was filling up quickly. Kelly found herself leaving the vehicle first.

With each step she took, she could feel the pain wrenching on her heart. This would be one of the hardest things she has ever done in her life. As the doors opened, she could find herself surrounded by friends.

Eve would trail behind her while Dolph and Cody were standing to her left. Jack, Tiffany and Nikki were on the opposite side while Ted and Maryse were not to far away from them. They all knew what this day would be like.

It was in that moment that Kelly could feel the shakiness in her body. From her head to her toe, Kelly could not handle the grief that today was scheduled to bring. As the doors opened to the room where the funeral would begin, Kelly abruptly stopped in her place and found herself collapsing to her knees. Lucky for her, Eve and Cody were quick to help out her out but that was not before what she had to say.

"I am not ready to do this – I am not," cried out the blonde as she began to pant. The moment she claimed to be ready for was here but she had not filled up the end of her bargain. The crowds of people before her turned back as she continued, "How am I supposed to say goodbye to the one person I have ever loved? No, I can't. Evan – no. I can't do this Evan."

"Kelly, try and stay strong," said her mother Kendra from behind.

But that was a promise that would be difficult to uphold. Kelly hooked arms with both Cody and Eve and kept herself composed. She held back any other sobs but allowed the tears to fall down. They began their descent into the crowd and toward the front where a seat was waiting for Eve. Mr. and Mrs. Bourne were well aware of how special Evan was to her and decided it was best they join her.

With the casket staring right before them, Kelly could see the many flowers that guests had sent in as well as some of his personal things. She saw the enormous collage of Evan – it was beautiful decorated with pictures of Evan and a few of his friends and family. Kelly took a seat and found herself next to Evan's mother who gently grasped her hand, which Kelly had gladly accepted. Her friends and family were seated in the row right behind her as the ceremony was set to begin.

The hardest day of their young lives was set to begin. With the final people filling into the room, the tight knit group of friends prepared themselves to say goodbye to a dear friend who had a significant effect on each and every one of their lives. The emotions were pouring into the room.

Never in her young life would she think she would be saying goodbye to a friend and lover ever so quickly. This was it – the doors had been shut. It's time to say goodbye.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you all don't still hate me for what I did in the last chapter. Things will get better for the story. I appreciate all of the reviews from everyone. Thanks for being so supportive! Only 5 more chapters to go - you may want to keep those tissues handy for a little while.

_Next Chapter - It has been 15 years but some familiar faces return to Beverly Hills.._


	51. The Reunion

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Fifty One - The Reunion_

_You're cordially invited to –_

Those were the very words that were printed on the invitation to John and Torrie's 15th high school reunion. Their graduating class of 300 all received the same invitation and the day had finally arrived.

The couple was extremely excited for the event. It had been so long since they have seen some of their friends and this was the perfect opportunity to catch up with everyone. With everyone so preoccupied, they never got a chance to see each other. Not everyone lived in Los Angeles – everyone was scattered and to get everyone together was a bit hard. Luckily, this event had come along at the perfect time.

The Cena residence was quiet the mess. Boxes laid everywhere and things were a clutter. With John accepting the new job in Santa Barbara, the Cena family would be moving. In a matter of days, they found the perfect house that was situated walking distance from the beach and in a week's time, they would be leaving Beverly Hills for their new home.

Torrie being pregnant did not help the situation either. Some days, she would have a terrible mood swing or the hormones would really act up. Like for instance, when Torrie had packed on a day where she wasn't feeling much like herself and ended up packing John's good suit. Luckily, after going through four boxes they found what they were looking for.

As John was applying his black and white striped tie to his black shirt and suit, Torrie could not help and question something, "So you finally found the suit you were looking for? I don't understand how I could have misplaced it."

"You put this suit in a box labeled as Christmas decorations. I don't remember you being like this when you were pregnant with Nathan and Ella. I don't understand you some times."

She listened in as she was applying some makeup. Torrie was all dressed up in a purple one strapped dress that stopped at her knees. She finished the look with cream pumps and had her blonde hair styled into bouncing waves. "These hormones make me into a completely different person – it is like one second I am happy then the next I'm mad. Maybe I'm bipolar?"

"Let's stick with the whole hormones idea, shall we?" He suggested as he directed to change the subject. "Can you believe it? We're going to our 15th high school reunion – this is crazy."

"It was 15 years ago that we graduated high school. 15 years - how the time has passed by? How do you wonder everyone is going to be like? Do you think anyone has changed?"

"They had to have changed – I mean, it's been 15 years."

"Your right – in all honestly, I'm just looking forward to seeing our friends. It is so hard to get everyone together. I know we are all preoccupied with our lives and living in different states is does not make the situation better but I wish we could all just see each other more often."

In the midst of the conversation, Kelly popped into the room. With Torrie and John going out for the evening, Kelly was on babysitting duty. The blonde tried to smile but it was truly difficult to do so. Evan's funeral was just a mere few days ago and she was still healing. In all honesty, she knew that she was never going to heal. You never get over losing someone you love – you just learn to live with it.

"Well aren't you two looking quiet dapper?" Of course – she had a comment. "I feel like you guys are heading to the school dance or something like that."

Torrie was now applying earrings as she turned over to face her sister, "well the reunion is in the school gym so it is almost like we are going to a dance. I peaked over at some of the decorations and the gym looks amazing."

John decided to take the conversation a little more serious as he was still concerned over his sister-in-law, "how you holding up Kel?"

There was an awkward silence in the air before Kelly broke it, "I'm alright," she quickly answered. She wanted to address the issue over Evan and had to let her sister and brother-in-law know that she was fine. "I appreciate you guys asking how I am but I am going to be fine. I know you worry and all but I am going to be alright. Losing Evan was so hard and I'm still going through the pain of knowing he won't be here anymore however I've come to accept something."

"What have you accepted?" asked her sister.

"I've accepted that I will never get over losing him. I will never accept that he is gone but I will learn to deal with this pain. That is what I've learned over this all. Losing someone one is difficult and no matter how much they meant to you, it's going to be hard. I'll never get over Evan's death but I will learn to deal with it for the rest of my life – and I am okay with that. I hope you guys will agree."

Torrie expressed her compassion with an assuring facial expression. She stood from her seat and came toward Kelly and told her, "I could not be more proud of you right now. Your such a strong and courageous person."

"Thanks," she answered with a quirky smile.

John had a little input, "and always know we'll be there for you. I know we are moving now but you can always count on us if you need anything."

"Thanks – that means a lot to me," she was very appreciative over the words that Torrie and John had to share that she had a little announcement to follow it all. "Also, I have some big news. You guys know that Principal McMahon asked me to recite Evan's valedictorian speech and I told her that I would like to do it."

Torrie rejoiced, "I am so happy you decided too. I was really hoping you would do it."

"I just thought about it and it would be a great way to really honor him. He put so much effort into that speech and I want to make him proud."

"And I think it makes it even more special that you'll be the one who recites that speech," added John.

Kelly came to learn that she would not be disrespecting Evan in any way. His speech was one that he had put a lot of work into and for it not to be recited would be a sin itself. This was going to be for Evan – in his memory.

* * *

While driving along the Pacific Coast Highway, he eventually directed the car onto the appropriate exit that read 'Beverly Hills.' It had been a long time since both Adam Copeland and Amy 'Lita' Dumas-Copeland had been back in the very hills they once roamed.

If you had not notice yet, Lita was now a married lady and officially the Mrs. Copeland. It was five years ago when Adam and Lita right before the birth of their son, Austin. Lita was both a mother and wife and she and her family was living a peaceful and quiet life in San Diego.

As for success, both adults had found great success over the last five years. While Austin was still a baby, Lita had found a desire to write. Throughout her days in high school and college, she always found literature to be intriguing. On top of her love for writing, Lita had an interest in mystery and thriller programs and movies. After watching one movie, she had discovered the plot to her first book. After being in production for over 3 years, Lita had finally released her first novel entitled "Ocean Eyes." The novel was met by critical acclaim and hit the top of best sellers charts.

With the craziness of her first book coming to an end, Lita has slowly begun to plan out the next book in her series. With all the success, Lita continues to find time to be with her family.

Adam had followed a different path. His life certainly changed when he met Lita and had continued to change. With his life on track, Adam had finally decided to finish his degree in architecture. Despite the pressure of work, school and raising a family, Adam overcame it when he graduated from San Diego University two years ago. With his brand new degree, Adam has begun working for an architectural design firm in downtown San Diego and helps construct homes for potential customers.

With their lives so completely changed, the two of them both wondered if anyone else was feeling the same way as they did.

"Can you believe it? It's been 15 years," said a surprised Lita who turned to Adam, "I haven't stepped into West Bev in 15 years. I cannot get it through my mind that it has been 15 years. "

"We missed out on the 5 and 10 year reunion so this one should definitely be interesting," recalled the Canadian as he was making yet another turn. "But I think Torrie said there was a lot of response to this year's reunion."

With a nod, Lita continued, "I am just excited to see everyone again. We haven't been together since…. I don't even know how long ago it has been. We used to be inseparable."

Lita was certainly right. The tight nip group was an inseparable one but things had certainly changed over the years. Some of them left when new opportunities rose and some found happiness somewhere else. Before you knew it, some were living as far as across the country, which made it harder to stay in touch, but she knew once she saw all of her friends, it would feel like she had never left them. That is the type of friendship they had. They could be separated for so long but when they were reunited, it was as if time had never passed by them.

But despite it all the two were looking forward to the evening at hand.

* * *

_Welcome to Los Angeles. The current time is 6:58pm with overcast skies and a mild 75 degrees. We'll be heading to our gate momentarily so please be patient with us and remain in your seat until the captain has turned off the fasten seatbelt light._

It was the usual routine that every pilot had to say upon his arrival. Jeff removed his ear buds after the long flight and enjoying the movie that was on display. He dropped them into his bag and did a big old stretch in his seat. He gazed out the window and could see the sun was in the middle of setting.

This was his first time back in California since he had left about 4 years ago. Jeff did not necessarily stay in one spot. Four years ago, he moved to London. A year after, he moved to Madrid and finally, a year after that he moved to Chicago and had remained there ever since. Reasons? Jeff's culinary talents had sent him to several restaurants and provided him with numerous offers. They just happen to be an ocean away. He finally settle in Chicago 2 year ago where he spends his night working at the high end Valentinos in the heart of Chicago as head chef.

Jeff was certainly not alone on this journey. He quietly clutched the person's hand beside him and smiled, "I cannot believe we are actually back in California. Back in LA –"

"Neither could I," said Mickie Hardy, as she smiled at her husband.

After all these years, Mickie and Jeff remained together. Mickie even went along on the ride with Jeff, traveling to Europe and ultimately into Chicago. There wedding was a bit impromptu. Jeff had managed to put together a small ceremony while the two were still living in Madrid. It was just the two of them and that is how they wanted it.

Mickie had been successful up to this point. Over the course of these 5 years, she obtained a masters degree in education. Since living in Chicago, Mickie had scored a job as a 2nd grade teacher in an elementary school that was in her neighborhood. She absolutely adored children. She had 20 of her own students this year and she loved every moment she was spending with them.

"Let me call my mom fast and let her know we landed. I hope Noah will be fine without us for the weekend. We've never left him for this long," Mickie pulled out her cell phone and dialed her mother.

Three's company – it was not only the two of them but they had themselves a little Hardy of their own. His name was Noah Hardy and he was merely 1 year old. Mickie had unexpectedly got pregnant and soon they welcomed baby Noah into the world. Her transition into becoming a mother was hard but it was so rewarding. Both parents could not feel anymore blessed than they are now.

Mickie had ended the call with a smile. "Noah is doing fine. My mom just put him down for the night."

"Good. I am really happy we decided to come to the reunion. I almost thought we were not going to make it," mentioned Jeff, as the couple was not sure if they were going to make it in the first place.

"We've been wanting to come back here for a while now and I think this could not have been a better timing. You are going to your high school reunion where you're going to see so many familiar faces."

"I can't wait to see everyone. I mean, we've seen Matt and Ashley a lot but I have not seen Dave, John, Trish, Lita or any of them in such a long time. I hope we are still friends," he grew worrisome thinking that the time they have been apart, their friendships had begun to suffer.

"Of course we are all still friends. Regardless of where we go, we will always be friends and nothing is going to change that," as his wife, she had to reassure him.

"You right," he nodded. "I am also excited for you. You are going to see where I spent my high school years."

Mickie turned to him, clutching his hand and smirked, "Tonight is going to be a great night – I can just feel it. Remember when we went to mine? We had a great time and you are to."

* * *

"Yes – Hannah goes to bed around 9 and Emma usually fall asleep around 8. I hope everything is fine."

Candice Michelle was in the midst of having a heated debate with her mother over when they were scheduled for sleep. Due to the reunion, Candice required a babysitter to watch the kids while she went away to L.A.

"Listen Mom, I have got to go. I still need to finish getting dressed. Text me if you need anything alright."

She ended the call and tossed the phone onto her bed. She sighed, "my mother could go on for hours and hours. She explains to me that the kids are in bed and wanted to know if this was the right time and if she should wake them up. Wake them up and they'll never get back to sleep."

"It is going to be fine. Just look forward to the evening – we're going to see all of our friends again," commented Dave. He approached her and proceeded to place a kiss onto her sweet lips. "And we're running late. If you could put on your dress faster, we could head out the door already."

Dave and Candice Batista were a happily married couple – yes, 3 years earlier the pair had tied the knot. After their relationship hit a huge rift, they decided to get tie the knot in an intimate ceremony with close family and friends. It was not too long till the pair had made a move. They eventually found their bags packed and we're heading to Vegas.

With a little help from her ex, John Bradshaw Layfield, Candice and Dave had acquired a large lump sump of money. Sometimes, you don't know what you want to do with so much money but for them it was not that difficult. It took a while till they got their hands on that cash but luckily the wait would soon be over.

Well, what exactly took the two to Sin City? Dave had sold his restaurant in Hollywood and invested the money in the Monte Carlo Casino & Hotel and became partners with the owner. This gave him the ability to open up a restaurant directly in the casino. Early last year, the restaurant called The Roman had officially opened up. It opened to huge reviews and became an instant hit. Dave continues to play the role as an owner and head chef maintaining his restaurant on a daily basis.

Candice kept herself busy over the years as well. Dave and her were lucky enough to have two daughters – Hannah who was two years old and Emma who was only a few months old. Despite being a full time mom, she got the opportunity to enjoy life. There were moments where she wished she could head back into modeling but that was not the case. Most recently, Candice wanted to embark on a new venture that would be able her to still be a mother and have a little fun.

Candice had always had an eye for jewelry and that is when she thought she could have some fun. A friend of hers – Melina Perez – was a household name of fashion and with some assistance; Candice had begun designing some pieces of jewelry that would be part of her first collection. Though the release would not happen for another year, she was extremely thrilled to be doing something exciting with her life. Candice was living the faultless life and she could not complain.

Dave had just finished putting on his grey suit jacket as he gazed in the mirror to see his completed look – a grey suit with a baby blue button down and he was ready to go. Candice had removed her robe and grabbed a dark maroon one shoulder ruched dress and slipped on the nude pumps to accompany her appearance. Her curly brown locks had draped down onto her chest and she was ready to go.

"Alright, I think that does it. How do I look?"

Dave took a quick gaze over his beautiful life. A smile curved over his lips. He darted straight for her, placing his hand on her hips and said, "you look amazing."

"Thanks," Candice said as she could feel her cheeks blushing. "Can you believe it has been 15 years? We were 18 when we left high school and now we're…"

"You don't have to say the age. I cringe whenever someone reminds me I am in my thirties."

"Don't remind me, I feel the same exact way," giggled the brunette as she grabbed her purse. "Are you ready to go? To go back in time?"

* * *

"The main reason I do not miss L.A – the damn 405."

There were the complaints coming straight from Randy Orton who was expressing his hatred for the traffic that was engulfing the major highway that cuts through the city. It simply reminded him that he did not really miss this place after all.

"When I start to miss this place, things like this happen and it makes me happy to have moved into Orange County," a short groan ended the statement before he turned to the stunning blonde that was sitting beside home. He could sense something was a little off and asked, "something wrong?"

Stacy Orton was certainly in a state of reflection as she stared out into the traffic. It was a moment like that when she could think about her life and how everything has changed over the years

Earlier in the year, Randy and Stacy had made the decision to make a move and decided to head south into Orange County. It was there where they found their new home in Huntington Beach. The couple along with their five year old twins had themselves comfortable in a beautiful home not too far from the sea. It gave them the opportunity to begin fresh especially with everything they had went through.

The whole Dawn Marie ordeal had shaken up their lives. It lead to Stacy leaving Randy, filing for divorce but ultimately returned to him when she discovered he was in a coma. Lucky for her, Randy had awakened and all was well. Following his stint in the hospital, they moved for that fresh start.

Randy had quickly found work as a financial consultant for a construction firm out in Laguna Beach. The job was perfect, offered a great pay and was not to far away from home so it gave him the opportunity to spend more time with Stacy. As for Stacy, she enjoyed being a stay at home mother. She liked being a housewife and would not change anything about it. She and Randy were living a traditional life.

"I was just thinking that this place has so many memories – I could not even count them on my fingers. There is just that many. Some are good and some are bad."

"Focus on the good ones. Don't waste your time on the bad ones. Plus, I'm sure we'll make more good ones tonight. We're finally going to see everyone again."

The reminder from Randy made her smile and gave her hope that the evening was going to be very special. After all, it was there high school reunion. Her curiosity was at a high as she wondered what was in store for the evening.

* * *

"Listen, I am going to need you to send those demos in Scott by tomorrow morning. I sent Kathleen the email regarding it so she won't be surprise to see it tomorrow morning. It is just that it is very important and she is one of our biggest artists that we cannot afford to lose."

The female sitting in the passenger seat gave off an eye roll to him and asked, "hang up now. Your driving the car and you already missed the exit we were supposed to get off at."

He reluctantly agreed, "Listen Josh – I've got to go. Heading to my high school reunion. If you need me, call," and just like that he ended the phone and tossed his phone into the backseat. "I'm trying to keep that promise I told you."

"Oh – the whole not letting business interfere with our weekend in Los Angeles? You've only been glued to the phone since we landed this afternoon and these may have been the first words you said to me," said Ashley Massaro – Hardy to her extremely busy boyfriend.

Matt's business was quiet the handful. It certainly was not easy handling his own record label that he had started from scratch. You have read correctly – Matt Hardy was the owner of Hardy Boys Records. It was a leading record label where some of the top artists were creating multi-platinum albums. The genre of music ranged, as did the success of his artists. He was slowly conquering the music empire and there was nothing stopping him.

Well, there was one person. His wife, who wishes to spend more time with him. She tried finding other things but even in New York City, she couldn't find sometime to keep her busy. Between raising her eight-year-old daughter Abby and getting a job as a writer for a lifestyle magazine, she felt her job wasn't fulfilling anything for her. It wasn't until about a month ago she received news that had changed her life.

Ashley was expecting a child! She was about 2 months along. Of course, she was beyond thrilled to be having a child. A child is such a blessing and she has been able to have that blessing with her daughter Abby. Now this was the opportunity to share it with Matt.

However, Matt did not have a single clue about the child. He has been so wrapped up with his work that Ashley never had the opportunity to tell him yet. It was going to be a little secret of hers before she got the courage to tell him.

"I'm sorry. Work has been driving me crazy for the last few weeks but I promise after we are done with this new artist we are signing, I'll have all the time in the world for you."

"You better keep that promise, Matt."

* * *

As they passed through the many houses, Trish had her eyes glued on the many houses that made up the neighborhood of Beverly Hills. There were so many of them and they were all beautiful. Some of them reminded her of her childhood home here, however her mother had sold that home years ago.

"See anything you like?" asked her husband as he continued down Sunset Boulevard. "Have you eyed the perfect house yet?"

Chris was certainly happy to be back in Beverly Hills. It had been a while since his last trip and there was a wholesome feeling running through his veins. So many fond memories sprinted through his mind as he drove there his former residence.

He truly enjoyed living in San Bernardino with his wife Trish and his two children Holly and Ben. Chris was working with the San Bernardino Police Department as one of their top detectives. He loved his career but his career was taking him places.

As for Trish, she loved life being a mother. However, that was not her only job. Earlier this year, Trish opened up her own yoga studio. It had received rave reviews by many. It allowed her be a mother but still have a career.

So why exactly are they so eager to be looking at houses? Chris had recently received a huge promotion to come and work for the Los Angeles Police Department while Trish wanted to move her studio to Los Angeles after such a large demand. The pair instantly knew where they would want to live when they came back and that was right here in Beverly Hills.

"None of these houses have for sale signs out. The news keeps telling us that the housing market is horrible and this is the perfect time to buy a house, yet I do not see a single house for sale. This is Beverly Hills – you've got to be kidding me that there is no house for sale."

"We'll find the right one and we still got some time before we make this move. If we don't find it in Beverly Hills, we can always try Bel-Air or look into Burbank, maybe?" he had suggested a possible different location but it seemed as if Trish was not going to have it.

Trish turned her head and told him, "If we are not living in Beverly Hills, we are not living anywhere else. We agreed that this would be the place to settle down. Holly and Ben could grow up on these beautiful streets."

"Don't worry – tomorrow we'll head to the real estate office and they can help us out. Tonight, let's focus on something else shall we."

"Ah! Our reunion! I can't believe this day is here," an excited Trish blared out her happiness. "I mean, we are finally going to see everybody and we'll be back in our old stomping grounds. It is going to be such a fantastic night."

"It's been 15 years, Trish."

As Chris said those very words, Trish could see West Beverly coming up on her right. The parking lot was beginning to fill up with cars and a night of reflection was set to begin.

This was certainly going to be an evening none of them will forget.

* * *

**A/N:** Certainly had trouble getting this chapter out and same goes for the next one. This is the problem I have been dealing with but I will fight through it. I appreciate all the reviews and support - you guys rock! The next chapter won't be for some time due to school. However, I'll try my hardest. I finished parts of the last four chapters - it is just a little difficult to finish them up but I promise I will finish! ;)

_Next Chapter - The reunion is just getting started.._


	52. High School Never Ends

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Fifty Two - High School Never Ends_

After the dreadful drive through the 405, Randy and Stacy had finally made it to their old stomping grounds. The parking lot was pretty full until this point. Randy could already see familiar faces.

Stacy did one last mirror check and made sure she was ready to go. Both of them exited the vehicle and meet at the rear of the vehicle, as they gave one another a look. Randy quickly asked, "How do I look?"

Stacy pulled down on his black suit jacket. With her other hand, she lightly grazed his cheek and told him, "you still look like the same Randy Orton from 15 years ago. What about me?"

Stacy moved back for a moment to display her royal blue skater dress with her blonde curls resting neatly along her sides. Randy's expression had said it all, "you look beautiful," and with that, he took a hold of her hand and told her, "let's get going. Everyone is probably waiting for us."

The pair walked hand in hand toward their school entrance. Stacy was beginning to feel like she was actually a teenager heading back to school. She could still remember her locker for every year she was there and the table she would always have lunch at. So many amazing memories were created here but none could compare to the memories with Randy.

With her memories of Randy flooding her mind, a question had popped into her mind that she felt would be questioned tonight, "do you think people are going to be surprised that after 15 years, you and I are still together? And married with kids?"

He thought of the reputation he had in high school. He was a womanizer. Every week, it was a new girl he was with but it was not until Stacy that all of that changed. People may still think he is the person he was back in high school.

"Well, maybe. I'm not sure. After all, I did sleep with half the girls in our school so they may be a little surprise that someone managed to get me to settle down," admitted Randy while trying to hold in his chuckle. "But everyone has lasted that long, haven't they?"

"Wrong, Mr. Orton. We lasted the longest. Everyone had broken up for years but we stayed strong until Dawn obviously but we are the longest lasting couple out of our friends."

When he thought about it, Stacy had a point, "now that I think of it, your right."

"I'm right most of the time, Randy and if you paid attention, you would notice that."

"Alright, no need to get cocky. It seems like I may be rubbing onto you in a bad way," joked the former football player.

The two had reached the entrance of the school gym where tonight's festivities were scheduled to begin. There was a huge sign decked across the stage that read out "Welcome Back Wildcats!" The room was filled with blue and golden balloons. The music had slowly begun and when Stacy turned her body, she could see all of her friends already at the table. They were all sharing laughs and that's when Stacy really felt like she was back in high school – when she saw all of her friends.

The first person to notice them was Trish who was ecstatic to see the pair that she ran away from her group and straight to them, "ah! Randy! Stacy!"

"Trish!" Stacy welcomed the brunette into her arms.

Once their embrace was over, Trish moved onto Randy. "You guys are late! We've been waiting on for you for the past half and hour. Everyone is dying to see you!"

As Trish guided the pair over to the group, Randy and Stacy were ready for yet another night of memories.

* * *

As the music was lowered, the stage was free but was going to be occupied by Torrie who was in charge of speaking to the entire class prior to the start of the evening. Stephanie McMahon had asked her to speak since her father could not make it to the ceremony.

The very pregnant Torrie had made her way onto the stage where she could see so many of her fellow classmates. The spotlight had been centered onto her. Sure, she was nervous but than she saw the support coming from her friends who were sitting at a table not to far from her.

"Hello everyone and may I be the first to welcome all of you back to West Beverly High! Tonight is a very special night and I cannot even begin to explain how happy I am to see such familiar faces again. It has been 15 years since we we're once students here at West Beverly. Despite our departure, we took many of those fond memories with us. Tonight is the night where we can reconnect and create new memories."

"Many of us have come quiet the long way since our days at West Beverly like our own Dave Batista is the a renowned chef at The Roman in Las Vegas and Melina Perez, who has created her own successful jewelry line as well as Matt Hardy who has went on to establish his own record company, Hardy Boys records. Many of us have found a great path to success. So let's enjoy tonight – a night of memories, stories and dreams. Thank you Wildcats!"

A round of applause was given for Torrie as she exited the stage and the music started again. While coming down to the stage, she was greeted by her husband. "That was a killer speech – Me and the guys are heading down to the trophy case and see if we could possibly get our hands on that trophy we won."

"You go ahead," Torrie patted his back as he ran off with the guys. Torrie saw another blonde coming directly for her and it was none other than Ashley Massaro, who was looking glowing in black dress. "Hey Ash – did Matt leave with all the guys?"

Ashley pursed her lips together, "well, not exactly. He's too busy talking on his phone. He's been glued to that phone since we landed today and has not spent any time with anyone. He is going to regret this. I mean, it's his high school reunion."

Unaware of the real situation, Torrie responded like anyone else would, "I'm sure he'll almost be finished and then he can really enjoy the evening."

Ashley had something to tell Matt today however; she did not know how to approach it. How was she supposed to tell Matt that he was going to be a father? She figured she would talk to Torrie and see what she has to say. After all she is pregnant and just recently told John so she had to give good advice.

"I can't believe you and John are going to have another baby. How does that feel?"

Torrie curved her lips into a genuine smile. Having another child was such a blessing. She always imagined having three children. Three is such a good number, "I am really excited and so is John. I knew I wanted a big family and I feel like three is the perfect number."

"Well, there's a reason why I am asking you –"

"Oh, your pregnant?!" immediately she answered with the correct response.

Ashley was shocked by how quickly Torrie had gotten the answer, "Sh! Don't say it out loud. I don't want everyone to know yet and how the hell did you figure it out so damn quickly?!"

"I like to think it's this pregnant women's intuition but it's probably not but that's not important. I can't believe you are going to have a baby. You and Matt are going to be parents. He must be so excited."

"Well, that's the thing. I am so nervous about telling him and I don't know how I should tell him. How did you tell John?"

"Well, with Nathan I told him during a football game and he did not even pay attention to me. It wasn't till that night he actually knew. With Ella, he found the pregnancy test so that was pretty easy. With this one, we got into a fight and I ended up telling him. So if you tell him, don't do it during a football game and if you want him to find out himself, just leave your pregnancy test laying somewhere out in the open," chuckled the pregnant Blonde. "Ashley, all you got to do is just be honest and it will pay off. Matt loves Abby and he won't be upset that you two are having a baby."

What better way to just tell him straight forward? You get straight to the point and avoid the stalling. She knew down in her heart that Matt would not get upset. He would surely be excited to be a father. Ashley just needed to draw the courage and tell him the truth already.

"I hate when telling the truth is the only answer but I have to do it and I will do it. I mean you did it twice – it can't be that difficult?"

"You are going to be just fine. Just think about all the good things that may come from this. It's going to be okay."

That is a line that she has been trying to tell herself all evening and only time will tell to see if everything really will be okay.

* * *

Adam had disappeared for a little while and Lita was starting to get a little concerned as she was gossiping with Stacy and Trish. The guys had all disappeared for a second but they all came back with the exception of Adam. This kept Lita feeling very distraught for the evening and she was not focused onto the conversation.

"Do you think Michelle and Maria still hate us after all these years?" Trish was pondering on the thought of her former friends. It had been 15 years since they seen one another. Maybe the hatchet had gotten buried over the past few years. "We did some pretty mean stuff to each other."

"You only pushed her into a pool at prom – that's not that mean," said the leggy blonde as she sipped on her drink. "Wait, that picture is coming back into my mind."

"I remember junior year when Michelle and Maria were changing in the locker room, I took all of their clothes and threw them into the dumpster."

Trish and Stacy both turned to Lita with such an expression of shock. Trish began, "wait, that was you?! I always thought that was Victoria who did that."

"Why did you do it?" Stacy posed the question.

"They trashed my painting in art class so I thought this would be a funny repercussion. I think I might tell them tonight that it was me. I mean, we are supposed to be sharing good memories and that was a great one."

The girls laughed and with the time passing even more, Lita decided she would go search for Adam, "listen, I'll be right back. I want to go look for Adam."

The girls were fine with that choice and Lita when off into the hallways of West Beverly. She was feeling a bit overwhelmed as she walked through this halls. This just made her think about how quickly time has passed. Fifteen years just flashed right before her eyes. She was starting to feel old again.

But her life was perfect at the moment. She had a wonderful husband and son. It was certainly picture perfect. Just being here is making her feel very nostalgic. Time travels by ever so quickly. She remembered everything so vividly. She could still remember the sound her alarm would make in the morning. She ever remembered the stickers and posters she had in her locker.

Could she not just go back in time and experience it all? She wanted to experience it all over again even if it meant going through the bad times – it did not matter to her. She needed one last opportunity to see it all.

As she came to an intersection, she turned to the right headed down that way. The auditorium door was opened and Lita slipped her way through the door. It was in the auditorium where she found Adam sitting in a seat, staring at the stage.

Lita went down the rows until she came to the one Adam was sitting in. She called out to him, "hey you."

He turned his head around and smiled, "I was just going to head back to the party. I just wanted to come here for a little peace and quiet."

Lita walked through the seats and sat down in the seat beside Adam. "Everyone was looking for you," she sensed something was wrong. She could feel it. There was something that was bothering him and kept him distracted. As his wife, she was going to figure out what was wrong. "Is there something bothering you? You seem a little distracted."

Adam inhaled and released a deep and loud breath of air. If there was one person he could tell, it was her.

"I just feel a little down. I mean, I'm excited to be here with you and to see everyone is great but I kept help but think of the person I was back in high school. I was not a good person. If anything, I was a horrible person. The things I did – it makes me wonder how you could have ever forgiven me? I did not deserve you or anything like that. How did Matt and Jeff forgive me for what I did?"

"Adam, everyone was a different person back in high school –"

"Lita, I was this drug addicted teenager and I got you involved into it somehow. How could I have ever done something like that to you? How could you get that strength to look past what I did and be with me today?"

Lita and Adam shared a very difficult past. There were plenty of regrets they had about it. Adam took Lita's life onto a downward spiral but despite the horrible events, the two seemed to be destined for one another. Nothing had turned out in the way anyone planned but things happen for a reason and this may very well be one of them.

"We all have regrets and we all have made mistakes but what matters most is what you do after those mistakes are made. You made a mistake and you learned a lot from it. You have changed as a person – a better person," explained the fiery redhead. "I don't want you to feel like this because in the end of the day, I fell in love with you – not high school Adam."

Adam turned his cheek over to his wife, who was smiling. "But how you were able to forgive me?"

"Even with everything that happened back in high school, I always knew that was not the real you. The drugs took control of your life and made you the person you are. I think I forgave you right away – you just did not know it. Life is too short to be mad at others and it is best to forgive and move on. It is just not worth it. Plus, a lot of people forgave me for some of the awful things I did so I do not see why I cannot forgive someone else?"

Lita was making a lot of sense to Adam. Her words just were reassuring. It was just what he needed to hear after this all.

"You just know the right words to say," Adam looked back onto the stage and Lita soon followed. She gently began to rest her head onto his shoulder as the two stared into the distant, seeing all that they have been through together.

* * *

Stacy rolled through her text messages where she received one from her mother. She mentioned that she had just put the kids to bed. Stacy could rest easy that her mother was watching the kids and enjoy the rest of the reunion with everyone else.

It was certainly lovely to see everyone all over again. The warm memories flooded her mind when she got to see old classmates and teachers all over again.

"Stacy, darling!"

That may all change now.

Following the cheery voice, Stacy was certainly surprised with who she was about to see come face-to-face it and boy was it a long time since the two have seen one another but after all, this was a reunion. You were bound to see some familiar faces; both good and bad.

Her red hair curls bounced up and down with each step she took. Her revealing black dress tightly hugged her body and her smile shined bright like a diamond. Maria Kanellis was back and coming face to face with a person she shared quiet the past with. These two did not share the best history – in fact, they hated each other but maybe they got over it all?

"Maria – I did not know you would be here," Stacy wanted to grit her teeth at the mere sight of Maria. After all the two have been through with one another, the past does not seem to just remain them. "You look –"

"Amazing, right?" The bubbly redhead finished the sentence for her. "You may have wanted to say beautiful because that does work very well." She had not changed a single bit. Still the same girl she knew from 15 years ago. "You look okay too. How are you doing?"

_If there were a pool right behind her, I would have pushed her._ "I am doing pretty good and I can assume that you are doing well too?"

"Where do I begin with me? Well, I did some modeling after high school then got my business degree and started my own shoe line, by the way. You should definitely try them. They may do some justice to those large feet of yours," as she went on, Stacy's fist was clutching into a fist. "And I was living out in New York for a year but I came back a few weeks ago. So what have you been up to? I'm sure you're so busy.

"Nope, I'm just a mom. I have twins – a boy and a girl. There five years old."

"Oh my god, that is amazing!"

The fakeness shined through Maria's voice and it nagged at Stacy a lot. "Yeah, I am a busy mom. It's not an easy job but I love it."

"And you're still married?" Maria pointed out when she saw her wedding ring. "I think half our graduating class is divorced but it looks like you are still happily married. Don't worry – I'm not mad that you did not invite me but who is it?"

"Randy – Randy is my husband."

This was when Maria did not look too pleased. " Randy? As in Randy Orton? You two are still together, after 15 years?"

Stacy smiled proudly. Despite the extravagant life Maria was living, there was one thing that she lacked in – getting a husband. Even those ones who are divorced – at least they were married. "Believe it or not, Randy and I are not one of those in our graduating class who are not divorced. We've been married for almost 6 years."

Maria scowled at the blonde and her happiness over the years however she had not been able to participate in any of that yet.

Stacy found this the perfect time to rub it in the redhead's face when she did not see an engagement ring on her finger, "Yeah, married for 6 years but I'm sure you are in some long term committed relationship. I mean, your 33 years old. I am sure you're with the guy your going to spend the rest of your life with, right?"

Stacy hit Maria hard. That is what you get when you try to rub your glory in someone's face. Just because you may have this fancy car or this beautiful business does not mean you have everything when the one thing you want is the real thing that is missing.

"Stacy, I have to go say hi to someone over there. It was a pleasure speaking with you. I wish you and Randy nothing but the best," beamed the redhead as she walked right by the blonde, infuriated by her response. Stacy turned around and watched her go and hoped that was the last time she would have to run into that redhead.

Just as she turned back around, she felt the embrace of two large hands approach her waist. She knew who it was once she felt the kiss against her cheek. "Sorry I disappeared for a second. The guys and I were reliving some of the glory days."

"While you were reliving your glory days, I relived a nightmare."

"What happened?"

"Maria happened."

Randy was even a little shocked. He had not seen Maria in years and the couple never shared such a thoughtful past with one another so he could understand why Stacy was upset like that, "so, is there anything different about her? Is she still the same old Maria?"

Stacy took a deep breath and smirked, "the same old Maria you and I still know. She mentioned to me that a lot of people in our class has gotten divorced or broken up."

When Stacy heard that, it just reminded her how lucky she was to be in a strong relationship with someone she loves ever so much. She broke Randy's hold and turned to face him, "I just want to tell you how much I love you and that none of the most amazing things would have happened to me if it was not for you. I am so lucky to be with you till this day."

"And you can count on me that there are only many more days to come for the two of us."

* * *

This reunion could not go any slower than it already is for Ashley, that is who had something quiet large on her chest to tell Matt. Personally, she did not want this to be the place where this happens. The blonde imagined this differently. She imagined this intimate, private moment playing out somewhere secluded and special.

As she listened to Trish, her mind was beginning to race. Thoughts of Matt's reactions clogged her mind – some of which were good while some of it was bad. He could run off and be upset or he could be the happiest person in the world. She would not find that out until it happened.

"So Chris and I put a bid for our dream house but it got declined because they took someone else's offer from another couple. I could not even believe it," Trish expressed her disapproval over her dream house slipping through her grips. "But we are still looking."

"It's definitely hard. It took us months before Jeff and I found the right house," Mickie felt sympathy for her friend's struggle.

"But I'm sure we'll find a house – I just hope it is soon."

Ashley interrupted the conversation when she spotted Matt entering the room, "Oh there's Matt. I just want to go and talk to him for a moment."

As Ashley went forward, Mickie pulled her back and asked, "you're going to do it now?"

When Mickie asked her the question, she knew what she had to do. She smiled and nodded to the brunette, "Yeah, I'm finally going to tell him."

The two ladies were pleased with Ashley's decision, grinning like crazy as the blonde went off. Matt was typing a message up on his phone as Ashley began to approach him. As he looked at his screen, Matt did not seem pleased whatsoever. As he looked up, he could see Ashley coming his way.

"You know, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. I do not believe these people could mess this up," growled the music producer. "Sorry babe, I know I promised I would not be using this a lot this weekend but I cannot help it. Some of this work needs to get done."

Ashley felt a little undetermined at the moment but that certainly changed when she got to speak, "can we go out in the hall in private? I'd like to speak with you."

His first thought – what did he do wrong? Even as Ashley dragged him out to the hallway, he thought of everything this could be about. Immediately, he thought that she was upset with him over something. Could it be that he is making this trip very work related? He was about to find out.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," said Ashley as she took a hold of his hands. "I just have something to tell you."

He did not enjoy any of the stalling and just asked, "Just spit it out because this is driving me insane."

_Now or never, Ash. _Ashley head in her breath for a brief second and gently pushed out the air from her system. "Okay, I think I should just say it and not beat around the bush. There's no way to just explain it because it will make sense right when I say it." Enough stalling – even she was getting impatient with herself. Her palms felt sweaty and her leg was fidgeting. "Okay, here it goes Matt – I am pregnant."

She expected the awkward silence and the shocked expression when she uttered the words. He did not seem upset stunned but she could not read it out. Just as she was about speak, he beat it to her.

"You're pregnant? We are having a baby? We are going to be parents?" So many questions frightened the young women but that would soon change as a smile was placed over his lips. "We're having a baby!"

Matt wrapped his arms around Ashley in a warm embrace. This would be a feeling he would harbor forever. The opportunity to be a father was something he expected to have one day but this was a surprise. Raising Abby is a blessing and now he and Ashley were going to become parents to a baby. This was better than any reunion he has been too.

"I am so happy that you are happy. I was so nervous to tell you. I did not know how you were going to react but I can't describe how it feels to see a smile on your face."

"Hey, hey! This is the greatest thing you could have ever told me. This is possibly the greatest thing you could ever give me – our own child. I mean, I love raising Abby and being a father to her and it makes me even more excited that I get to do it all over again and making our family even bigger."

She felt like a fool now. Her worrisome thoughts were bogus and silly. Deep down inside, she should have trusted herself and trusted Matt.

"I cannot wait to have this baby with you. You make such an amazing father for Abby and I know you will be an amazing one to this one."

It was a sweet moment between the two that was disturbed by a phone call. Matt's phone, which has had a history of ringing, was blaring off the hook. He pulled it out and here Ashley thought he would answer it. The sound came to a close and when she looked up, Matt removed the battery and slid both pieces into his pocket.

"I am getting sick of hearing that."

Ashley grinned and ran back into his arms, pulling the Hardy brother into a sweet kiss. This was it. Their lives were transforming right before their eyes. The two were entering an even bigger chapter of their lives.

Jeff and Mickie opened the door to the hallway when they found the pair in the embrace. Jeff asked, "Guys, what is going on?"

Ashley turned to the pair and placed her hand on her stomach, "We're having a baby!"

* * *

Torrie planted a disgusted look on her face as she paced through the yearbook and noticed so many photographs featuring some unfortunate choices in fashion. Since creating her own fashion line, she came to realize the many dos and don'ts that come with it. Her high school – specifically senior year – was one big don't.

She could feel a heavy arm come across her shoulder and gently rested on her. It was her husband; John who seemed curious over what Torrie was looking at, "our old yearbook. I don't think I have seen it since we graduated. It's in one of those boxes that you probably missed labeled so for all I know, it is probably in the box labeled toys."

Torrie rolled her eyes, "a pregnant women comes with her issues and it is the husband's job to deal with it. As for the yearbook, I was just looking at some of the clothes I wore. They look disgusting. I bet none of these people thought I would go on to open a fashion line that I eventually gave away to my good friend who turned it into an even bigger success than it was before but I traded that all away to be with someone I love –"

John interpreted this conversation as sweet coming from his wife so like any normal human being; he responded with a nice comment, "that's very nice of you to say Tor."

"Why was I such an idiot?"

"Okay, so that is not what you meant."

"John, I am still happy and I would not change a single thing. I just wonder sometimes, you know. Like, how different my life would be if Chris and I never moved here? I would have never met you and we would not be together."

This was definitely a question that was getting John to think. What if things had worked out differently? Despite his thoughts, he could have not been happier with where he was right now.

"It is kind of crazy but I have not thought about it that much."

"You had to have thought about it at least once? Like, what if you never came to the airport and tried to stop me from going to Sydney? You and I may have never gotten married," and then Torrie thought of an interesting one that would certainly get John's mind moving. "What if you never dumped Michelle? You may have still been with her – maybe even married."

"Okay, hold on," this was a line he was not going to cross. John and Michelle dated years ago and with how much Michelle drove him crazy, there was no chance that would have happened. "Tor, trust me – that would have never happened. Michelle would have drove me crazy."

"She's your ex."

"So what if you had married Carlito?" Two can play at this game, "you and Carlito would be having babies with little afros."

Torrie showed off a horrific facial expression, "please do not say that."

"I will when you stop mentioning Michelle."

"I knew I heard my name."

Torrie and John both froze when the two heard the ever so familiar voice. The conversation came to a close when they turned their heads and saw Michelle McCool standing right before them. The blonde bombshell was glowing – not just in her one shoulder black dress but the pregnant belly she had on display. Michelle was with child and both Torrie and John were a little surprised.

"My little ears drifted me over here when I heard Michelle a few times and seeing that I am the only person with that name in our graduating class, I assumed it was me," her little devious smirk rested on her face. "John, Torrie, so nice to see the two of you."

"It is great to see you two, Michelle," John first answered before acknowledging the baby bump present. "And congratulations – you're going to have a baby?'

"Thank you, this is my first little one and I am due this fall and I should congratulate the two of you as well – I remember you always told me that you wanted a big family, John."

"This is our third, actually. We already have a boy and a girl, Nathan and Ella," Torrie chirped right in and in addition to the bump, she noticed Michelle was married. "Married too? That must be one lucky guy."

"His name is Mark and we got married last year," answered Michelle. "But John, you look remarkably handsome. You certainly have not changed a bit since we dated – maybe a bit cuter than five years ago. Can you even believe you and I used to date?"

Torrie hooked up to John's arm and pinched his arm. Torrie knows how to show she is angry but pregnant Torrie is a whole another story. She was digging into his flesh and John tried his hardest to keep himself composed.

"Yeah that was quiet something," he didn't know what to say and the pain in his arm was not helping.

"So you two are having another child? Do you know if it is a boy or a girl? I am having a girl."

"John and I decided we want it to be a surprise."

Michelle instantly thought on an idea that she loved however the couple may feel differently about it, "I hope you have a boy because we could get our children to date and maybe even married! We could be a family. This is great – we would be like in-laws!"

"Oh my god, that sounds amazing!" Sarcasm rolled off her tongue. That was something she could not see happening nor would be happening.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Oh, my husband is calling me. Listen, it was so nice seeing the two of you. I am really happy to see the two of you are still together and having a baby. Great seeing you – we'll see you at the engagement party, will we?" Michelle gave off a sweet laugh as walked by them.

"Bye Michelle," the two said in unison with two fake smiles plastered. Torrie released John from her grip and John was free from any pain.

"I cannot believe her."

"God, Tor – my arm. Shit, you stuck your nails in so deep. I think I am bleeding a little," John looked over his arm and was happy to see the bleeding was minimal."

"Flirting with you right in front of me? You're my husband, you're the father to my children – does that woman have any self control?" Those were the hormones getting a little out of control.

"Torrie, relax. She was just being nice."

Torrie was not amused and she showed it. "Oh John, you look so handsome and you are even cuter than you were 5 years ago," mimicked the pregnant mother-to-be.

"Okay, so she was really nice."

Torrie offered an eye roll, "She was flirting with you like crazy. If that was not obvious, I do not know what is."

"Your just jealous because I got a little attention from someone else. I think I've still got it."

"John, you don't –" And she froze. There was a feeling that was hitting her belly. It was nothing that was bad but something that felt so amazing. Torrie moved her hand down her stomach and could feel her child beating their feet to her stomach. "John, you have to feel this. The baby is kicking – John, the baby is kicking!"

Immediately, John's hand joined Torrie's hand on her belly and he could feel the kicks coming through. He gently turned his head toward Torrie and smiled, "That's our baby kicking away. I cannot believe it."

As the two enjoyed this extraordinary moment, the two looked into one another's eyes and realized that despite their thoughts and differences, nothing had made them happier than the life the two had started with one another, where it has lead to and where it will take them.

* * *

The evening was slowly winding down but Chris Jericho knew he had to do one more thing before he could close this night off: visit the football field.

This very football field was where the Wildcats won the championship. Chris was part of that very team and helped his team get the well-deserved victory. That night not only was a victory for the team but shared another different milestone.

"You know what happened here over 15 years ago?" said Chris as Trish and he walked hand and hand with one another on the field. "Well, not right in this exact spot – it was in the locker room. Let me reword that – do you know what happened in the locker room 15 years ago but I can't go there and say it so the field will have to do?"

The brunette giggled at her husband, "Please tell me, Chris."

"You and I had our first kiss – it was right after we won the game and you came inside and we had our first kiss."

_Wow, he actually remembers. _Trish was always surprised with Chris's ability to remember such significant events and she could not believe he remembered the spot where they had their first kiss, "I cannot even believe you remember that. You forget where you put the remote but you manage to remember that. Till this day, you cease to amaze me."

"Do you remember that game at all?"

"Of course I do," said the former cheerleader. "I remember you caught one of the touchdowns and I cheered my ass off that game. I mean, I really cheered my ass off. I wonder if I can still do a cheer?"

"Give me a W, Give me an I," Chris mimicked the brunette's little cheers and he was slapped on the shoulder by Trish in response. "Hey, was that necessary?" responded the blonde, rubbing his arm.

"You're being a little jerk about my cheerleading days. You thought that was easy? All the flips and the pyramids I had to do. Everyone thinks cheerleading is easy but that is not the whole story. Dedication goes into all of that," the brunette defended her cheerleading abilities. "And if it wasn't for us, you guys would have never won!"

He rolled his eyes, "I did not see you get onto the field. I bet you cannot even throw a football, Trish."

Was that a challenge she smells? Trish was always the competitive kind of person and could enjoy this little contest Chris was throwing her way. She could smell the competition, "Is this a challenge I see coming my way? Is Chris Jericho going to challenge me to a game of football?"

Sure, the idea sounded crazy but as Chris thought about it for a little bit longer, he knew this would be fun. "Why not? How about this – we'll have a match and we'll pick our teams. How does that sound?"

The idea tempted her like the devil, "I like what your working with, Chris. Torrie and Ashley cannot play so we'll get the rest of our friends to join in on the fun. Oh, I think you have made a huge mistake, Mr. Jericho."

Chris smirked, "I hope you know what you're going up against? I was named the MVP of our varsity team that year and I still got it, Trish. I mean, your going to have your hands full with me. Are you sure this is something you want to do?"

She could not believe how much Chris was putting her down like this. Did he not expect anything from his wife? Did he find her this weak? He was definitely in for a surprise.

"Since you think I'm such a wimp, how about we raise the stakes? Why not place a little bet? If you win, I'll buy you courtside tickets to the Lakers game – heck, even season tickets," the stakes were raised. "But If I win,"

"Hold on, you picked what I would get if I win and I think it's only fair that I get to pick what you win?" Trish nodded to Chris's proposal. "If you win, I will give you this," Chris pulled a piece of paper out of his suit pocket.

"A piece of paper? I'm willing to give you season tickets to the Lakers and I am going to get a piece of paper? This is great to know, Chris. I'll be sure to think about this when your birthday comes around."

"Trust me, this paper is a hell of a lot more worth than that. This paper has a lot of significance and it involves you. So if you want to find out, you'll agree to the bet."

As much as she did not like all the mystery behind this, what if that paper was really important? Trish got suddenly interested in finding out what was in the paper and there would be only one way she would find out what the contents of that were.

"Okay, you have yourself a deal Chris," Trish put out her hand, requesting a handshake. Chris looked his wife in the eyes and smirked before accepting her hand with his. "May the best man or woman win."

* * *

"I got the text from Trish a couple minutes ago to go and meet them all on the football field," Candice had her phone opened, reading off the text message she received from Trish just a short time ago. "I wonder what she is talking about."

Dave was simply trying to adjust his tie as he and Candice just finished some "business" up. Candice pulled her dress strap back as the two were making their way outside.

"As for what happened in the closet back there," someone had to say it and Dave thought it was best if he would.

"That is was amazing and we should definitely try that again?" Candice finished the sentence Dave wanted to end and he could have not thought of a better answer.

"Exactly. Now I know why Randy and Stacy were always in there."

The two approached the field and saw their group of friends huddled in a group and the questions sprang through their minds wondering what they were all called down here for. Trish spotted the pair at the corner of her eye, "Would you guys walk a little bit faster? We've been waiting for you." She whined. "What was taking you so long?"

"We were busy," Dave quickly answered the question. "What's this all about? What did you bring us down her for?"

Chris stepped in the middle to make the announcement. "Okay, Trish and I made a little bet and we want to settle this with a classic game of football and you guys are going to be our teammates. We want to do a 6-on-6 game and Trish and I are captains. Whoever gets 5 touchdowns first, wins."

"Hold on just a second," Randy made the interruption and he had every reason too. "What the hell is this all about? We're in the middle of our high school reunion and you want us to play a game of football. Why though?"

Trish was going to answer that question without a single issues, "It is to prove to my husband that I can beat him in something he may be so good at. If he thinks he can beat me, he is sadly mistaken."

"Basically Randy, to put it as quickly as possible – I am going to destroy Trish is my very own game," The cocky Chris was making Trish fume.

"Well, that counts me out," Torrie was relieved to know she would not have to be a part of this game and immediately took a seat on the bench beside her. "Such a shame though."

Ashley would soon join her on the sidelines, "you can count me out too. That is going to make two pregnant women on the sidelines."

Jeff Hardy was not keen on the idea seeing that he was never the athletic type of person and was going to try and get himself out of this, "I don't know guys. I suck at football and I would not be any good at it."

"I'll do it," Mickie answered quiet quickly. The rainbow haired warrior was a bit surprised by Mickie's quick response. "I use to play football all the time when I was a kid and if I don't say so myself, I am pretty damn good at it."

"I had no idea that this was in you," responded Jeff.

"There are lots of things you do not know about me, Jeff."

Trish chimed right into the conversation, "who else is in? John, Randy, Dave, Adam? You were all on the football team – this could be your chance to relieve your glory days? Come on – this will be fun."

"Lita and Stacy, we need you too! We'll mix the teams up and have some fun with this," Chris tried one last attempt on getting everyone onboard with the idea and was pleased to see everyone nodding along to his answer thought everyone was not exactly on board but the idea did seem fun. "Great, everyone is onboard! Let's pick teams and since I am such a gentleman, I am going to let my wife pick first."

"Wrong move, Chris. You cannot be a gentleman on the field but my first pick is John."

As the teams were being assembled, Torrie and Ashley watched on and Torrie brought up a very valid point. "Wait, who am I supposed to root for? John is on Trish's team and then Chris is on the other. I have to root her for someone."

"Have you even thought about why they are doing this? Where the hell did this come from?" Ashley had so many questions regarding this little game but was willing to suck it up to watch these people tear us apart.

"Candice, come on over!" Trish called over to be the final participant of the team along with John, Dave, Jeff and Lita.

Chris was stuck with the only player left – Stacy. He motioned Stacy to come on over, "alright Stacy, let's do this."

The teams were now set. Trish has John, Dave, Lita, Jeff and Candice while Chris has randy, Adam, Matt, Mickie and Stacy.

"You do not even sound the least bit excited to be on your team and you picked me last. Heck, I was not even picked. I am the pity pick. The one that just goes along because she has no choice."

Chris chuckled, "No your not, Stace. You are a valuable asset to this team." Of course, he lied to the young girl because he could not admit that she was right.

As the blonde dragged her feet, Trish pulled out a box containing a bunch of old West Beverly jerseys, "My team will take the blue and yours will take the yellow," Trish told her adversary.

"Bring it on Trish," Mr. Jericho unleashed one last attempt to intimidate his wife.

"You're in for it now, hubby."

* * *

This was it. This was the end of the line of the game. It was tie – 4 to 4 – both teams were playing long and hard. Trish's team had the ball and this could be the moment where they win this whole game. Trish had a lot going for this game. Her pride and dignity lied over this next play. John was the quarterback and the play was about to begin.

"Hike!"

The play has begun. John was received the ball and was now aiming for his target. He scanned the field. Dave was blocked and so was Jeff. He could not get a clear pass to Lita or Candice. There was only one possible person that he could pass this to – Trish – who was open with no one blocking her. John decides he is going to risk it. He passes the ball over and the team members all watch as the ball travels through the air.

As the ball swings through the air, Chris notices the direction the ball is going to and stops covering Dave. Just as he is about to do that, the ball lands in Trish's hands and she runs down the field and scores the touchdown for her team. Chris looks on disappointed. Trish's team comes over and the group celebrates as a team and is soon joined by the rest of the team, Torrie and Ashley.

"What did I hear before this that I couldn't throw a football? In your face, Chris!" She mocked him right in his face and was enjoying this. She savored the moment. "And do not come up with any excuses that your knee was bothering you or the moonlight was in your eyes."

Chris was a man of his word and his wife had gotten the best of him – this time. "Alright, alright. You won, Trish. You're a pretty damn good football player."

"Now that I am filthy and feel totally disgusted with myself," Candice brought up as she looked at her friends. "Don't tell me this game was all for nothing and just to prove yourself to each other?"

"Was anything at stake instead of just pride?" added Mickie who dusted some dirt off her shoulders.

"Well, I told Chris if he won, I would buy him season tickets to the Lakers."

"Ouch!" Dave cringed at the horrible news. "Man, I don't know what's worse – losing your pride or losing season tickets to the Lakers?"

"And what did you bet?" asked Adam, "I don't know what could top that so –"

Chris pulled out the piece of paper that was part of the agreement of the matchup, "this piece of paper."

The group looked very dumbfounded by the revelation of the bets. Randy, of course, had something to say about this, "that paper better be made out of gold or something."

"What's in the paper?" questioned Stacy.

Chris handed it to Trish and said, "Trish will tell you when she opens it."

She accepted the paper that was folded up. She looked over at Chris before she began to unravel the note and even her friends were so intrigued by the contents of the note – after all, they were dragged into a football game to help determine the winner?

As Trish pulled the note apart, she could see the black words written all over it. Her eyes traced the entire page, reading it's contents and her mouth was beginning to drop.

"Well, what is it Trish? What does it say?" Lita pushed her friend to tell everyone what the note was about.

"Oh my god," she began her sentence. "You got us the house? You got us the house that we wanted?" Her eyes went straight up to her husband, who began to smile. "Oh my god! We got the house, we got the house!" Trish jumped into the air with excitement as she began to figure something else out. "That must mean you were the other bidder! You were the other person putting in the bid."

Chris had to come to terms, "I knew our offer was not going to be good enough so I put in a second offer that was a little more than our asking price but the realtor knew how much we loved that house and decided to accept the new offer."

This could not really be happening, right? Trish was waiting to wake up from this dream but this was no dream – this was a glimpse of reality. Her heart was set on that home – her dream home where she could live and raise her family.

"You really did that?"

"Well, I know how much you wanted it. You loved it, the kids loved it so I knew I had to get that house."

Trish came up and embraced her husband with open arms, "this is amazing. You do not know how happy this has made me. You make me so happy and I cannot even express how grateful I am for this. I don't think I could ever repay you." Trish whispered the message into Chris's ear.

Chris knew exactly how to make her happy and this was it. He was the man of her dreams for a reason and she was beyond excited to begin a new life here in Beverly Hills with her family.

"Well, if we want to take about repaying someone – I would really like those season tickets, if that option is still on the table?"

She chuckled in his ear and said, "Nice try but we've got a huge house that we must pay for first. After that is taken care of, I will be happy to get those tickets for you."

As the two turned back to face their friends, they were greeted with smiles. John approached them and said, "We're really happy for the two of you and I think we should celebrate with some food – I wonder where should we go?" He asked the question when it should not be a question at all.

"There's a diner off Wilshire Boulevard that is awesome," Ashley commented but the group had given her an odd stare. "Why is everyone giving me a dirty look?"

"Honey, you have much to learn about us. There is only one place where we go to," Matt came to the defense of his love.

"And what's that?"

And as a whole, they said, "The Peach Pit."

As the former students started getting along on their way, they looked back at their countless memories at West Beverly High. This place felt like a home away from home for them. They knew that wherever they go in life, they will always have this place and they will always care a piece of West Bev with them. They will be wildcats forever.

School is not merely a place to learn. It is a place where one develops friendships that can last for decades, a place where memories are born, a place where love blossomed but most important of all, it was a place that will remain in their hearts forever.

* * *

**A/N:** This was definitely a difficult chapter to get out which explains all the time it took. I had finished a majority of it but I changed a few things up explaining the delays. The next chapter is completed but I'll post it as I make some corrections but there is only 3 more chapters left! I was contemplating adding an additional chapter but I am not sure yet. If does happen, it will be a chapter before the final chapter so we'll see. Stay well everyone and thanks for reading/reviewing!

_Next Chapter - While it may be graduation day for some, it's moving day for others.._


	53. The Graduates

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Fifty Three - The Graduates_

Just like the song goes – _oh, sometimes I get a good feeling_ – that was just the exact emotion that Eve was having as she was walking through the halls of West Beverly. Dressed in the bright blue gown, she held the cap by her side as she continued down the hall.

To think about it – this was the last time she would be walking through these halls as a student. Her time in high school was slowly beginning to dwindle down and she was clocking in her final hours. The amount of time she had spent here was now coming to a close. She would never have to use another locker again, hear another bell ring or worry about being late for her first period French class.

But it was a little bittersweet. Eve had enjoyed her time and high school and would not have changed it for the world

Strolling down the halls, she was surrounded by faces she had greeted for the past two years. Sure, not every day at West Beverly was certainly the best but there were certainly brighter days than gloomy ones. With every twist and turn in the hall, she encountered another spot where a memory was shared.

As she reached a corner, a friend and a fellow graduate Nikki Bella joined her. Just like her, she was embellished with the blue gown. Quickly, the twin had hooked arms with the Latina.

"Oh Eve – can you really believe this is it? In a short few hours, you and I will be high school graduates," said the Bella, thinking of what will be happening. "I just cannot believe how fast the time has passed."

"To think, I will not be needing another locker but I think I am going to miss it actually."

"But what are you going to miss the most about West Bev?" questioned the dark haired girl.

Eve smirked before her answer, "probably hearing Mrs. Guerrero yell out excuse me in the middle of class. I know most of us find it really annoying but I find it hilarious."

"Was not the answer I was looking for," said the disappointed Bella. Eve posed with a stump look before Nikki gave the correct answer, "you were supposed to say that you were going to miss seeing my beautiful face every day."

A quick laugh emerged through Eve's lips, "oh, yes – I did forget to mention that."

"But no worries, you will be seeing this face every day this summer. I am just going to show up at your door every morning so you get your daily dose of Nikki."

If Nikki only knew what was going on and that Eve was not scheduled to stay in Beverly Hills this summer – looks like the cats out of the bag. Eve has yet to explain to her friends about her plans for this summer. Only her parents and Alex know her true plans. Reason for the hold up? With everything that has happened recently, Eve thought it was best to keep it to herself and wait for a more appropriate time to announce to her friends about her big adventure. She had to hurry up though because tonight was the night she is leaving.

"But actually – I am really sad to be leaving West Bev. I have so many amazing memories here with you guys. I may have only been here three years but they were some of the best."

"Even with the whole mess with Dolph and Brie?"

Sure, her senior year might have been a tad bit better if Brie had not interfered in her life and ruined her relationship with Dolph. Things could have went a hell of a lot better but Nikki had to take the pieces she had left and work with it. She has definitely put Dolph behind her as well as Brie.

"Let's not mention either of those names and focus on our graduation," to change the subject, Nikki immediately pointed out Maryse and Tiffany who were standing beside Maryse's locker. "Maryse and Tiffany are here."

The two blondes were also in the same uniform as their friends as were all the graduating students of West Beverly. Maryse was too busy applying some lip-gloss in her mirror when the two ladies appeared.

Tiffany instantly greeted them with a cheerful smile, "Hi girls – Happy graduation day!"

"Still trying to get it through my mind that we are actually graduating high school and about to go off to college," said Nikki of her astonishment. "And even on her last day, Maryse still uses the mirror in her locker when there is a huge one in the bathroom."

"Ew. I refuse to use that facility until the school gets a proper janitor to clean that disgusting mirror in there. Lucky for the girl who is using my locker next year – I will be leaving her my cute little mirror for her," said Maryse who finished applying her makeup.

"What a lucky girl," said a sarcastic Nikki. "Why not leave the lip gloss too?"

"Are you nuts? This is Sephora and this color is great on me. Giving up the mirror was hard enough but now my cosmetics? Nikki Bella, you have lost your damn mind."

Tiffany could see this conversation was going absolutely no where so decided it was best to change it, "back to more serious issues – have any of you seen Kelly at all?"

"I saw her yesterday at the beach club. She went over the speech with me," Nikki had gone with Kelly to take a run down of the speech. "The speech is great but she did tell me she is pretty nervous so we have to be really supportive."

"I think she is going to hit it out of the park," Eve admitted. Eve was truly happy with the decision Kelly made and knew she was going to do a magnificent job.

Speaking of the blonde, the smiling blonde was making her way down the hallway toward her close friends. It had been the first time in a long time that she had smiled and it was a great feeling. Two weeks following Evan's death, Kelly had made somewhat of a recovery. She began the process of moving forward without Evan and was doing pretty well. She had surprised herself with the progress she made and knew this was a hurdle in life she had to get over.

"Hi girls!" said the cheery blonde as she greeted her friends.

"Hey," said the group of ladies in unison trying their hardest not to make this situation awkward.

Kelly pursed her lips up and could see the awkward silence coming up. None of the girls really knew how to address the situation since Evan's passing but Kelly did not want that to happen so she was going to act like nothing ever happened, "Can you believe it guys? We are actually graduating today – this is it."

Maryse had decided to ask about the speech Kelly was going to give, "are you ready for the speech?" Kelly remained silent and Maryse decided to add on a little more to her question, "I should have not asked that."

"No," answered the blonde. She knew her friends were trying to be nice but they should ask about the speech. So what if it reminds her of Evan? There are a lot of things that remind her of Evan and they should not feel frighten. "Don't be nervous to mention him or something about him. Yeah, I am still not over losing Evan but I don't think I will ever get over him. I am just going to learn how to deal with it and reciting his speech is going to help me. Sure, I am seriously nervous about getting on that stage."

"But we'll be in the audience, cheering you on – not physically cheering because we can't do that but you know what I mean," said Nikki as she put her arm around the blonde. "You're going to hit it out of the park today."

Kelly sighed and followed with a smile, "Honestly, I am so lucky to have you girls. I never got a chance to really thank you all for staying with me in this time of need. You four were absolutely amazing and I could not have asked for better friends."

"We are always going to be there for you," Tiffany gave Kelly that little assurance. "No matter where we are or what happens to us, we'll always be there for you."

"If you ever need anything, we'll be there. We'll even be there faster than that time Maryse needed that pink nail polish and we had to race down to Long Beach just to give it to her," joked the Latina.

Maryse was not amused at all and gasped at the comment, "that was a fashion emergency. How do you expect me to using baby blue nail polish to go with my pink dress? None of you appreciate the meaning of true beauty."

"Relax – everything went fine," said Nikki. "But I think it is time we head down to the football field. It is time we head out and graduate."

* * *

As the girls were prepping themselves for graduation in their own way, the guys had their own different method of preparing themselves for the extraordinary day that was at hand.

Ted, Cody, Jack and Dolph were in the media room where various activities would take place. Jack took his duffel bag and took out a bottle of Johnnie Walker, showing it to the guys.

"I managed to slip this outside my dad's liquor cabinet without a single problem. Luckily, the guy has a couple other bottles and should not notice this one missing," explained Jack of 'borrowing' a bottle from his father's liquor cabinet.

"This isn't the smartest idea – drinking in school on our graduation day but what the heck? I'm leaving West Bev with a bang," pronounced Ted as he pulled out a few glasses and started pouring the drinks for his friends. This was his idea after all. To have a final toast before they walk down that aisle to the graduation anthem.

"Because punching out Mike and being suspended weeks before graduation isn't much of a bang, right?" the sarcastic comment came from Cody. Ted gave a not so amused look in response.

"We have got plenty of celebrating to do tonight, guys." Dolph had mentioned to back Ted's claim of leaving with a bang.

"I am planning the biggest and sickest party to end our high school careers. Dad is leaving for Australia to shoot his new movie tonight and I've got the entire place to myself now. I got this sick DJ coming in from Spain to spin the records. No worries on the booze – I've got plenty for everyone. Tonight is going to be one for the memory books boys."

"Dolph, let's hope you don't spend this party in the toilet again puking your brains out," casually joked Cody Rhodes.

Dolph managed to smirk at it and let the joke happen, "don't remind me about that. The last party I went to I ended up cheating on my girlfriend with her sister. I don't want any of that happening this time."

"I'm sure you'll get Nikki back, dude. But I think for now, it is good that the two of you spend some time apart," Ted advised his friend. Dolph accepted the advice and knew Ted was right. Nikki and him needed a little time apart to get everything straight. He did betray her in the sickest fashion of all but knew that this would all blow over soon – he just didn't know if it was going to happen soon enough.

"We'll just see what happens."

Cody stood there for a moment as he thought about Dolph and Nikki's situation as it reminded him of Eve. Since Evan's death, the two never really had an opportunity to settle things between them. Though he was still determined to get her back even if it killed him. He knows Eve still harbors feelings for him and it is only a matter of time before she realizes that.

"Let's not make this a sob fest but a happy one, guys. This is our final hours as high school kids – we're going to be playing with the big leagues come this fall," Jack had reminded his friends, "well, except for Ted but that doesn't mean this isn't a big deal."

He started to hand out the glasses to each of his friends and as Ted looked, he noticed that there was an additional glass, "wait, there's only four of us? Why did you –"

And that is when the guys realized something – the extra glass was meant to be for Evan who unfortunately was not with them. The guys remained silent before Cody spoke, "No Ted, there is five of us – I bet you he is here with us right now."

The guys were still reeling from losing their good friend but they could not let it damper this bright and special day. Ted nodded with a smile, "he sure loved this room – he got to witness some epic games of pool where I destroyed Dolph in."

"Hey – I was good!"

"Not good enough my friend," Ted responded.

An idea then entered his mind and decided there was a way to honor their fallen friend. "Guys, I propose a toast." Ted raised his glass as the other guys followed, "thanks for some awesome memories here. High school would not have been the same if it weren't for you guys."

"And to one great friend – Evan, we know your not here right now but you're looking down on us right now. We wish you could be here. So this one is you bud – we'll be seeing you soon."

The delightful speech had come to an end as the four men raised their glasses, clinked them together and took down the strong liquid into their bodies.

"Ah, that is one strong drink. I can see principal McMahon giving me a dirty look when she smells my breath," Dolph put the drink down and grabbed his gown, putting it over his body. "I think it's time we head out boys."

Jack grabbed his as well and followed Dolph to the door, "let's get the diploma and get out of here. We'll see you boys out there."

Jack and Dolph made their exit as Ted and Cody gathered the bottle and glasses to hide for the duration of the ceremony. Ted stopped Cody and began pouring one more glass. Cody watched and decided to pour himself one last one as well.

"I can't believe I am saying this but I am actually going to miss this place a little," admitted Ted. He walked over to the window to watch as his fellow graduates were preparing for the ceremony.

"You've gotten all sentimental all of sudden. Has Jack put anything in that scotch we just had?" Cody took another sip as he joined Ted by the window. "But yeah, I am going to miss the hell out of this place. It is going to be weird not having Evan around too. Nice speech too – He would have liked that."

"I had to do something for him. I am going to miss that kid but he is still here – he is everywhere."

"Seriously, I like sentimental Ted," joked the raven-haired football player.

"What's wrong with the other Ted?"

"Nothing really – just prefer this one more."

Ted gave off an annoyed look before he noticed how intent Cody was staring through the window. He could see whom he was staring at as he took another sip, "So, have you gotten a chance to talk to Eve since what happened at prom?"

"We talked the night before Evan's funeral. She was at Kelly's house when I came by. Dude, I'm crazy about her and I know she feels the same way. She's scared of hurting Alex – that is the only reason why she won't leave him. I just want another chance to be with her again."

Ted couldn't offer anything else to his friend except a simple pat on the back and with an old expression, "you know what they say right? Good comes to those who wait and maybe soon she will finally come around."

Cody finished the rest of the drink and placed his glass down and said, "I certainly hope so."

* * *

That oddly familiar music began rolling out of the speakers. The stage had been set and the football stands had been filled with family and friends. The ceremony was set to begin.

The crowds of West Beverly Seniors spewed out through halls bellow the stands and into the open. A few heads would turn back to spot their families but kept the line moving as more and more students came through. The students were seated in alphabetical order so all the A's started in the front rows and anyone with a Z would be in the back of the lines of students.

Nikki and Kelly were the first of their friends to come out and the two were side by side. The two would be sitting next to one another and Nikki's sister Brie was just ahead of her. The two seemed extremely happy but Kelly was still pretty nervous. Her speech would be coming up very soon and she wanted to nail it. This was her way of honoring Evan and this couldn't have been more flawless.

Soon the rest of their friends were flooding into the seats. Ted was right behind the Nikki and Kelly. Maryse was seated a few rows behind Ted and as for the rest of their friends, they were seated on the other side where the rest of the class was filling up their seats. Cody was in the second row while Jack, Tiffany and Eve were a few rows behind and at the last possible row was Dolph Ziggler.

The faculty and staff of West Beverly soon joined the students and took their positions on the stage right before them. Principal McMahon would be the first individual to address the students and their respective families.

"Good morning parents, students, families, friends and faculty and welcome to West Beverly High School. It is an absolute honor to be standing before you all today," Stephanie gazed out at her students with their blue caps on. "I can still remember seeing you all as young freshmen who were nervous about their first day. I've watched you grow over your four years here and you have all cultivated in mature respectful young men and women."

"This senior class is graduating with a 3.78 average GPA – one of the highest we have seen since our class of '99 and for that, I applaud you all for your incredible hart work and dedication. This class has not only been academically successful. This year, our wildcats have been extremely successful on the field. Our varsity football team, baseball team, softball team and both boys and girls lacrosse team were all successful in capturing their leagues top honors. It was the first time in West Beverly history that has ever happened," a round of applause greeted McMahon with the astonishing news.

"With success found in the classroom and the field, our seniors have also gotten very involved in their communities. Members of the student council have organized countless efforts to help those in needy with two blood drives, a thanksgiving can drive, toys for tots collection, a bachelor/bachelorette auction and a charity fashion show. The thanksgiving can drive saw over 8000 cans be donated over the course of 4 weeks while the fashion show and auction combined raised over 5,000 dollars for the Los Angeles children's hospital. So to the student council, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to you all for your tremendous hard work over the year. Your work will not be forgotten."

"All of your tremendous hard work has paid off and now today is the day to celebrate all of your success throughout your high school career. I, for one, am going to miss seeing you all in the halls. I have been principal here at West Beverly for six years and it has been a joy to have all of you here. I am certainly sad to see you all leaving but I know that you will never forget this place just as the faculty and I will not forget any of you. All of us were so honored to have you hear as students and we know that wherever life takes you, you will succeed."

Another round of applause followed. Stephanie looked through the program and noticed it was time to pass over the podium to another speaker, "Now, I would like to pass over the podium to my colleague Dean Michaels as he has a few words for our graduating class –"

* * *

The ceremony was on at full speed as Principal McMahon had finished handing out awards and introduced a few speakers to the graduating class. Principal McMahon would be stepping up to the podium. Kelly stared at her principal as she made the walk to the podium and noticed she flashed a wink. That was her signal – Evan's valedictorian speech was set to begin in a few moments and Kelly began her mental preparation.

"Every graduating class has a student who has performed above expectations and played a significant role in our student body. It is my honor to introduce this years recipient: Evan Bourne," behind, a large screen was present which highlighted a photograph of the deceased individual. Kelly instantly felt her emotions rushing as she glanced at Evan's photograph.

"Evan has exceeded tremendously in his academics. Finishing his high school career with a 3.92 GPA. He was a member of the student council, created the media club, which is now responsible for publishing the bi-weekly West Bev Paw Print and the West Beverly Channel, which is responsible for airing daily shows including our morning announcements. Mr. Bourne is also a member of the school's honor society for his outstanding hard work and commitment."

The crowd began to applaud for a moment before the principal continued, "I remember meeting Evan 3 years ago as a sophomore. He had moved here from St. Louis and I could already see that he was a bright young student. I watched him exceed in several classes including honors English, honors calculus and honors history. Teachers have always told me it was always a pleasure to have him in their class. "

"Evan was extremely respected for his lovable and loyal character and it was so unfortunate that we have lost him. For some of those who do not know, Evan had unfortunately passed away about two weeks ago. His death has had a deep affect on our school and community. His sweet smile and genuine personality will be missed around the halls. Though Evan is no longer with us, it does not mean he is not deserving of this achievement."

"So to you Evan Bourne, it has been a privilege and honor to have you be a part of the West Beverly community. We all know that you are not here with us right now but are looking down on all of us with your ever so bright smile. You were one of the finest students West Beverly has ever seen and for that, I salute you. You will be missed Evan."

There was a good feeling traveling through the students. They could feel Evan's presence – Kelly especially who was seating next to the empty seat that was made for Evan. She closed her eyes and could feel his touch. She could feel his hand touching her arm. Evan was right here and had a front row seats to hear the beautiful speech he spent so much time into putting together.

"Days before his untimely death, Evan had sent me the final draft of his speech and I have asked someone special to have the honor of reciting it to you all. This person was a very close friend of Evan's and it is with my honor that I introduce Kelly Blank to the stage."

An eruption of applause echoed through the football field as Kelly came to her feet. In her hand, she had the speech ready. The crowds of students had her back as she went up the stairs and greeted Principal McMahon with a handshake as she returned to her seat.

The clapping had died down and Kelly was greeted with the awkward silence. She scanned the crowds and found all of her friends, each with a reassuring smile. In the crowds, she found her family. Everyone was there – her mom, dad, step-mom, Torrie, John, Nathan, Ella, Trish, Chris, Holly and Ben. Everyone was there and she could feel the support coming from them. Not to far away – she could see an emotional Mr. & Mrs. Bourne. Mrs. Bourne was tugging at a tissue as she waited for Kelly to begin her speech.

She could feel the tingle etching through her toes. The spotlight was dead on her and all eyes were etched on the blonde standing in her bright blue cap and gown. She took a deep breath and in her mind told herself – _you can do this._

"My fellow graduates, it is an honor to be standing here before you as your valedictorian. I never in my right mind thought that I would be standing on this very podium telling you what I am about tell you. Before I go any further, I must thank a few people. I first would like to thank my amazing parents who helped me along every step of the way. Without their support and love, I would not be standing right here, right now," it was truly bittersweet as he could not physically stand here. "I would also like to take the time and thank the faculty of West Beverly for all of their all the encouragement all over the years. Last but not least, to my dear friends – thank you for making my years at West Beverly some of the best years of my life."

A brief pause to catch a breath of air and Kelly continued, "I almost decided not to come to West Beverly when I moved here from St. Louis. My family and I had moved only a few blocks away from here and I was so determined not to come here. I wanted to go to St. Luke's in Bel Air because I was under such an impression that West Beverly was a horrible school. On my first day, my parents literally dragged me on the floor. My nails were scratching on the pavement leaving these white marks. They tossed me in the car and when I got outside West Bev, my dad told me "Evan, you've got to take a risk in life. Sometimes risks do pay off." And then he tossed me right out."

Kelly stopped for a second as she could feel the emotions taking over her body. She was beginning to get nervous even as she in the speech already. She stared out in the crowed in fear but when she looked at the seat that was meant for Evan, she could see someone sitting in it.

It was him. Evan was siting right there. He gave off a smile and once she saw him, she knew she could do this. Her heart told her she could conclude this speech.

"It was then when I realized that life is all about taking risks. Risks have helped me grown as a person. I was a very shy person years ago and West Beverly has helped me realize who I am. West Beverly has made me not feel ashamed about my personality. This is the place that allowed me to be who I am freely without judgment."

"Risks have made me brave. I would always be the one to cower away and not face the complications that had come that way. I would always hide behind a person and could not come face to face with the conflicts I had on my hands. West Beverly helped me become stronger – not physically, but emotionally. I was able to tackle several issues and didn't need anyone to help me. West Beverly even helped me tell the girl I was crazy about how I felt."

Kelly smiled at that last line. "Risks have made me stop stereotyping others. I always thought that West Beverly was filled out superficial individuals but I was wrong. West Beverly taught me not to judge a book by its cover. They taught me not to judge others but to have an open mind to everything. West Beverly had taught me that."

"But where I am getting at is that if it wasn't for the risks I took, I would have not accomplished what I wanted to accomplished and I would have not gotten to where I am if it weren't for those risky decisions. Life is all about taking those chances and facing the challenges that come along with it. My fellow graduates – on this journey of life, don't be afraid to take a risk because it will pay off. Live your life with no regrets. As long as you tell yourself that you can do this, there isn't anything too big or too small that you cannot overcome. Face your fears – don't let fear face you."

The speech was slowly coming to its conclusion, "My fellow peers nothing in this world is impossible. I want you all to leave here today knowing that you can do anything – you can do anything your heart desires and there is nothing out there that can stop you. As long as you put your mind and heart in it, you can do it."

"It is insane how the time has passed and now we will all be leaving West Beverly High. Do not be sad – this school will always be here for you no matter where life takes you. You can always come back to wrap yourself up in the memories you had here. This chapter of our life will be complete once our caps are thrown in the air and you will turn to the page to a brand new chapter."

"We have our entire lives ahead of us that is destined to be successful. Let us take that first step into that brand new chapter together," Kelly took one last deep breath before concluding the speech.

"Thank you and congratulations to the graduating class."

Following the final words of her speech, Kelly looked up from the podium and found the ovation the speech had received. The students were on there feet giving Kelly the applause she deserved. The families were out of their seats and she could see her family smiling at her. As her eyes traveled, she found them lying upon Evan's parents – both of which were overwhelmed by the speech.

As she stared into the crowd, she followed Evan's ghost who had gotten up from his occupied seat, traveled to the back and made his departure. As she remained standing before her peers and their families, she could feel the rejoicing. Everyone could tell by the smile she was currently wearing.

It was a moment like this that was a perfect way to keep Evan's memory alive.

* * *

The final diplomas were handed out and the students had returned to their designated seats and Principal McMahon took her spot at the podium for her final words. As the students looked on, they savored their final moments as high school students because in just a few moments, they would no longer have that title.

"You have now received your diplomas signifying that you have completed your high school education. Before we close this ceremony I, and the entire faculty at West Beverly High would like to extend our best wishes to you all. Success is in your future no matter what course your life takes. Apply the lessons you have learned here and take them with you. I can see a bright prospect in everyone's future."

This was the cue for the students to rise as she concluded the ceremony with her final statement, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you West Beverly High's Class of 2013 – Congratulations!"

Uproar of cheers and applause filled the football stadium. The seniors, who are now official high school graduates cried out to the celebration. Their caps were thrown into the air as their families looked on with proud expressions. Students began to embrace one another as the graduation music went on.

They did it – they actually graduated.

There was a mutual feeling of happiness and joy going through the students. It ran through their veins. This was a major accomplishment in their lives and this was only the beginning of their future. There was a long road ahead and each of them was ready to face that road no matter the complications that may be in the way.

Blue and white confetti filled the air, surprising the students. Some tears appeared in the eyes of students as they realized they might not be seeing some of this people everyday anymore. After high school, many tend to go on their own separate paths. Despite the happiness, there was a touch of melancholy going through the students. This may be the last time everyone may be together after this.

The crowds of students mixed in and the cliques went to form themselves. Our gang found themselves surrounded by one another. Everyone began to embrace one another and congratulating each other on their big achievement. They did it – they really did it.

Dolph and Nikki found each other in front of them as it was there turn to congratulate each other. It was a bit awkward but Dolph opened his arms and Nikki accepted the hug from her ex-boyfriend. It did not mean anything but she did not want to create a problem on such a momentous occasion.

The same occurred for Eve and Cody. The two gave each other an uncomfortable look. Cody kept his lips shut and decided he should just say it, "Congrats Eve."

She managed to smile and said, "Thanks – congrats to you too." As he reached in for a hug, Eve ran aside and instantly grabbed Nikki who was free for a hug. Cody stood there for the moment and felt the scorn of Eve not accepting his embrace.

Soon, the gang – Cody, Ted, Kelly, Maryse, Eve, Jack, Tiffany, Nikki and Dolph – all looked around at one another. Their smiles were etched on their faces and they waited for someone to say it. That person would be Jack, "Oh man – did we just actually graduate? We just freakin' graduated. We're not those high school kids anymore."

"I am still surprised I even got through high school," mentioned Ted. "But thanks for coming along on the ride people. It would have not been the same without any of you." The group smiled and Maryse planted a kiss on his cheek.

"But can any of you believe this is over? I mean, we've been in high school for four years and now it is all over. We're moving on," though it was sad, Tiffany had admitted the truth. "This might be the last time we might be together."

"Don't say that," Kelly did not want to admit it just yet. She was still stuck in the pass.

"But she is right," as much as she did not want to admit it, Nikki had to agree with the bright blonde. "Tiffany is going to Harvard, Ted is going into a different direction and the rest of us are going to CU. Sure, we may still be going to the same school but we might not have time for each other."

She was not amused when she heard Ted was going in a different direction but decided not to say anything but said, "We can still have time together – it doesn't all have to change."

"We have got the entire summer on our hands," Cody mentioned, as that was a positive part of this whole thing.

"And I need to mention to everyone that I have got a huge graduation party tonight at my place. We are going all out – one last time. I've got to spread the word. It is going to be my greatest party yet," said Jack "The Swagg" Swagger.

With all of this talk going on, Eve felt an enormous amount of pressure on her. She had yet to mention to any of her friends about her trip to Barcelona for the summer. Her nerves were getting the best of her. It also did not help the fact that she was leaving tonight - in exactly 12 hours from now.

It had to happen and it was going to happen right now.

"Guys, I think it is time that I tell you something. Now, I don't want any of you to get mad because this was a really hard decision. I should have told you earlier but with everything that happened, I could not do that," as she kept her friends on their toes, she took in a deep breath and began her confession.

"Alex told me about this study abroad program in Barcelona that accepts incoming freshmen. He got accepted and he told me I should apply too. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to accept so I will be spending my summer in Barcelona."

Her friends all responded with a smile but there was a lot more to it. Maryse had expressed her happiness, "Oh my god! That is amazing! Barcelona is absolutely beautiful – I spent two summers there and let me tell you, Spanish guys are hot."

"I'll keep that in my mind, Maryse. But there is something else I have not told you yet." The big reveal was coming this way. No more holding back, "I am leaving tonight, you guys."

There it was – the shocked expressions and awkward silence between everyone. This was what she expected. Each of her friends looked extremely upset with the decision. This is exactly what she did not want and she thought she would explain herself.

"I am sorry that I did not tell anymore. It was just with everything that happened, I did not want to take away from anything or bother you with my things. You don't know how sad I am about leaving you guys but this is such a great opportunity. I cannot let this go."

This was definitely hard and Tiffany could see the look on Eve's face. Sure, she was sad to see a friend leave but she knew that she had to let her follow her dreams. She was going to Harvard and had the same support from her. It was time to return the favor, "I am so proud of you. Sure, I am bummed out we won't be spending the summer together but your doing something you have dreamed of doing. I am not going to stop you."

Eve could feel the support coming and it made her smile, "I really appreciate that Tiffany."

Others soon followed, "I just thought this would be a great time to spend our last summer as teenagers together but if this is what you want, I can't stop you," admitted Kelly.

"We're going to miss you around here," said Ted. "But you've made the decision. We're happy for ya, Eve."

"I mean, I guess I am happy for you. Just wish I had a few days notice but I will be making a stop there before I head to France so don't be surprise if you see me knocking on your door," joked the French Canadian.

As all of her friends came to embrace her, one friend was left out in the cold. Cody was shocked by Eve's revelation. He knew she would be coming back but he would spend the whole summer without her. The two had some unfinished business and she could feel as if she was running away.

Cody saw this as an attempt to escape from her feelings. She was scared to admit her feelings but then Cody asked himself – maybe she was really going for other reasons? A part of him wanted to stop her from doing this but he knew that he could not pull himself to do that. He just had to let her be. Maybe things were meant to go this way?

Eve was feeling the embrace from Kelly but it did not cover her eyes from seeing Cody who was visibly hurt. She was making the right decision – for herself and others. It was time to move on with life.

* * *

Person after person – everyone kept telling Kelly about how well the speech had gone. Her mom, her dad, her step-mom and now her sister were telling her about how she enjoyed the lovely speech.

A glowing Torrie had joined the graduation ceremony along with John and her children as well as Chris and Trish who were preparing to move to Beverly Hills with their family. An outpour of support was there for Kelly and this could not make her happier.

"I cannot believe you have graduated. I still remembering giving you a pep talk about West Beverly before your first day, four years ago," watching her younger sister growing up was certainly difficult. It made her feel older but life goes on. She could not be prouder of her and knew she was going to be successful with whatever she does.

"I am still in shock that I got through the speech – I did not even tear up or anything," surprised by her performance, Kelly expressed her previous doubts but was thrilled with the outcome.

"You nailed it," Chris had expressed to his younger cousin. "I mean, you knocked it out of the park. Kind of reminds me of the speech Lita had when we graduated. It just told everyone that life is going to be okay after this and it only gets better."

"The ceremony was beautiful though it did remind me that I am getting older," someone had to bring it up and it had to be Trish. The others laughed but Trish defended her statement, "don't laugh. You know it is true. You three were definitely thinking about that we are only getting older."

"Let's try and talk about something else, shall we?" proposed Cena.

Instantly, Trish thought of an idea. "How about we talk about why you two are moving to Santa Barbara just as we get here? Are you trying to avoid us or something?" joked Trish.

For John and Torrie, today was quiet a bittersweet day. Their happiness for Kelly would soon turn to sorrow. Today was the day they were leaving Beverly Hills. John had received a coaching position in Santa Barbara and they had to move out there as soon as possible. The last possible day was today. Shortly after this, they would have to leave.

"You said you were not going to bring that up," Torrie told Trish. "We already feel bad as it is."

"I am just pushing your buttons – shish! Can't a girl have a joke everyone once in a while?"

In a flash of a moment, Kelly's day had gone sour. Her sister was leaving and it was so upsetting. Her sister was such a big part of her life and now she was leaving. As much as she wanted her and John to be happy, she still felt upset. However, they were not going that far. Santa Barbara was only a two-hour drive away.

"It sucks that you have to leave today. It just couldn't wait another day?" whined the blonde.

"I kept asking them if we could wait till the beginning of next month but I need to start tomorrow. The team is starting to train and I can't get there a day later. I am already behind by so much and need to get caught up," John attacked Kelly's question with an honest answer.

"But you should expect me this summer – a lot. Okay, not a lot – more like everyday?" teased the blonde.

The group shared a chuckle and John found himself picking up Ella, who was grabbing his pant leg to get his attention. When he picked her up, he glanced around the football field and was reminded of the memories he shared. He could still remember his high school graduation like it was yesterday. Time goes by ever so quickly sometimes and before you know it, you're married with children. He would kill to go back to those carefree days but is even happier with the position he is in now.

"Ella, maybe if we move back one day – you will be going to this school," said John as Nathan began to tug onto Torrie's arm. The time had come, "Tor, we better get going if we are going to catch the movers. They said they would be ready by 12."

She took in a deep breath and sighed, "is it really that time yet? I thought we still have more time." Torrie was looking for anything to stall some time but it was not going to work this time. John simply nodded and Torrie began with the emotional goodbyes.

John and her went through each family member – except for Trish and Chris – and were beginning to say goodbye. The last person Torrie was saying goodbye to was her younger sister. Before taking her into her arms, she pulled Kelly to the side away from everyone to speak in private. Through the hug, Kelly could feel the baby bump against her body. For a second, she could even feel the baby kick.

"It is going to be so weird with you not around. I am so use to just coming over everyday and talking to you about just everything," explained a tearful Kelly as she was saying goodbye. Her sister was so special to her and to say goodbye was too difficult for her to handle. They were close – really close but knew that there could be no distance in the world that could keep these two apart.

"Who's going to babysit? Now I have to actually look for someone and of course I am going to miss you. You're my baby sister after all and always know that we are still close by. If you ever need anything, you should call us and we will be right there. Not doubt about it. Once we get settled, you have got to come out and visit us."

"I am making sure I make that a top priority this summer."

"I'd loved that."

Kelly always felt that Torrie and her shared a very special relationship. It was different from other sisters. The two of them were really best friends. Kelly turned to her sister and told her the truth, "your more than just my sister. You're my best friend."

Torrie was touched by the comment and embraced her sister once more, "I can say the same thing. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?"

As the two pulled apart, they could see their watery eyes. Without even saying anything, they both mutually decided to keep their heads up high and not shed a single tear before returning to the group. John had pulled Ella up into his arms and Torrie took a hold of her son's hand.

"Well this is goodbye, for now," John said as he looked at his sister-in-law and Torrie gave a short wave before turning around and walking away.

The family of four took a look back at their waving family members as they disappeared into the crowds of students and families. Torrie could feel the tears coming but opted not to let them go. Though sadden with the departure, she was extremely thrilled with the opportunity this would bring.

Chris and Trish rested their arms over Kelly's shoulder, comforting the blonde. It was just difficult to watch people you care about walk away but it does not mean they will be gone forever because family is forever and they will always be there for one another.

* * *

"This was something I wanted to do before I left this school," said Maryse as she was guiding her boyfriend Ted through the hallway and into the girl's bathroom over on the quieter side of the school. Once she pulled him in, she shut the door and blocked the door from opening by blocking it with the garbage can.

Ted was as confused but that was solved when Maryse had thrown off her blue gown and jumped onto Ted. She fed him with small little kisses as she started to remove his blue gown and found herself unbuttoning the buttons to his shirt.

"So this is what you wanted to do before you left this school? Have sex in the girl's bathroom? I thought you were a classier lady," joked the recent graduate as he found his lips and Maryse's locked once again.

"I am still a classy lady – always have been and will always be one. However, I always wanted to do this. I saw it in a movie – two teachers went at it in the bathroom and it was kind of hot."

His hands were roaming all over her delicious figure and found himself tugging at the zipper, eventually pulling it down, "I never saw you as a girl who would like something like that but I am open to trying new things."

"And I like trying new things too. Instead of staying at hotel La Ponche in a suite all by myself, I will be joined by someone else," Maryse had discussed the plan for the summer. "Daddy knows a good graduation gift when he sees one."

However, he had a little unfortunate news for her, "so, I may have to come back a little earlier then expected, if that is not too much of a problem?"

"We're supposed to spending an entire month together – why are you leaving?"

"I was talking to some people about renting out a spot so I could start preparing the bar for launch. I told you about this one place I found in Santa Monica but I also found a few others there too that I really like and that I could afford."

"Where is this going, Ted?"

"I just have a meeting or two with this business manager and he is really interested. However, the meeting is in July and I would need to come home early if that is not a problem."

Maryse could not get it out of her mind that Ted would not be joining her at CU this fall. Even the sweetest kiss could not get her mind off it. During the ceremony, they mentioned how a majority of the class was heading to college with the exception of a few and it had severely bugged her.

This day was supposed to be a good day however she was not feeling that way. The idea of Ted running a business like this was not flying very well with her. The talk of this business was driving her insane and now he wanted to cut back on his vacation with her. This was driving a wedge between the two of them.

"It is a problem Ted – I want to spend some time with you. I had to pull so many strings to get that suite and now your going to abandon me for this business you plan on running," the was a freshness like ring to her tone as well as a hint of mockery.

Ted caught on quickly and backed away from his girlfriend, "you think I don't notice the sarcasm?"

"Ted, open your eyes – this business you plan on opening – how do you plan on making it work?"

"How hard is it to run a business? Plus, I've been working a lot on a business plan and looking into what I need."

"And you know what you need? You need a proper education. This idea you have to run a business without getting the right training is stupid. How could you dropped out of CU and plan on running your own business? You don't even know what it takes to run a business."

That hurt. It was a direct insult to his integrity and a lie – she lied to him. Here he was thinking he had her full support and that was a one big fib. He shook his head and growled, "So basically you lied to me? You told me you were okay with the idea."

"I just feel as if you're throwing your life away for this. College is so important if you want to succeed and without it, you won't be going anywhere in life," she was deeply concerned and did not want to see him suffer. He deserved a hell of a lot more. "It is not too late to call CU and let them know you would still be interested in attending this fall. People are going to ask why your not going and are going to say things – they are going to think your stupid."

She just did not understand what he wanted. It was all about how she felt and no consideration over his feelings.

"Not going to college does not make you stupid. Sure, college is important but there have been plenty of people who have succeeded without college. I told you college was not right for me and I did not want to go but everything gets turned to you and how you feel. Why don't you take into consideration about how I feel and don't be so damn selfish?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You are making this about yourself and not about what it should really be about. I want to be my own person and if you cannot understand that, then maybe I should just leave," Ted grabbed the gown he had tossed to the side and headed for the door. "And you can go to France by yourself – you would not want to be around a stupid person, right? I might make you look bad."

Ted pushed the garbage can away and walked out of the women's room. He was very saddened by the words exchanged between the two. He just did not see any point in staying there if she was only going to berate him for his decision.

Maryse growled and zippered up her dress. She picked up her gown and sighed. Did she just really screw everything up between her and Ted? All she hoped for was that she did not lose him.

* * *

As the chaos of the graduation aftermath was come to a close, some of the seniors were returning to their lockers to gather any last minute things they had left from before. Nikki had tossed in her purse before the ceremony and decided to head on back before she headed out.

All of her friends had already left with their respective families; the graduates and their families headed out for a small graduation lunch. Nikki was going to do the same – she and her dad were scheduled to have lunch at her favorite Italian place.

As she shut her locker door – for the last time – a very familiar face greeted her. One that resembled hers – Brie was standing a locker or two away holding her cap and gown. Nikki still had hers on.

"Nikki, could I talk to you for a second? It is really important."

An eye roll was all she could offer before allowing her sister to speak, "What do you want to talk about?"

After all Brie has done, she never thought she would be uttering these very words to her sister. "I would really like to apologize for everything that has happened. What I did to you was beyond wrong. I have made so many mistakes over the past few years and I want to correct them. Honestly, I don't know what had gotten into me over the last year months. I did some horrible things."

"Taping Dolph and I while we were having sex was pretty horrible – just as horrible as you trying to steal him away from me. I wonder which was worse."

"That was pretty low of me to do."

"Low?! Brie, you tried to ruin my life. You videotaped Dolph and me while we were having sex, you tried to distant the two of us and then you trick him into sleeping with you while trying to pose as me. How can you just say that was pretty low? It was disgusting," the statement was full of anger and resentment toward her sister.

Nikki just did not understand how Brie could do all of that. How could someone so evil get to a level where they try to take everything away from you? Nikki knew that this all stemmed from Brie's jealously but she did not believe that it would have gotten this far – especially after the two had resolved things on prom night.

"I did horrible things to you. Some of which is unforgivable but I regret them. I regret every single thing that I did."

"Let me ask you something – did you even mean what you said prom night when we were resolving our issues? Did you mean any of what you said or was that a big fat lie?" Nikki waited for a response from her sister but had not received anything, which only led her to assume that she didn't. "I thought so."

"I did not mean that than but I do mean that now. I really screwed everything up but I want to fix it now. I am so sorry, Nikki –"

"No!" Nikki had even interrupted her own sister to get her point across, "you can't just fix the problem. The problem does not go away that easily. I don't think sorry is going to cut it, Brie."

Nikki had reached a point where she could no longer deal with any of this. The only way to make herself feel better and this solve the new issue at hand was to end it all.

"You fooled me twice. I bought into this whole forgiveness thing two times but you're not going to get me a third time. I know what this is going to lead to and I am not willing to see where this goes."

"But I've changed since that –"

Nikki rolled her eyes once again and proceeded to go on yet another rant, "you've changed? How could you have changed within two weeks? You're a liar Brie; you're a liar and a loser. I don't want anything to do with you anymore."

"What?"

"You heard me. I can't do this anymore. My body cannot handle everything you throw at me. I just cannot do this any longer."

Brie was insistent on getting her sister to try and work things out yet again. She was not going to give up and was going to find a way to convince her sister to allow the two to make up, "Remember Evan's speech? How he said you should take a risk? Well right now I am going to take a risk and earn your trust back – we're sisters after all."

When Nikki heard how Brie was going to use Evan's speech to get the upper hand, she decided to fight fire with fire, "yeah, I do remember Evan's speech – he said to take risk and I am going to take a risk right now. I may regret it one day but I am not going to regret it right now. Brie, I want you out of my life."

Brie remained silent as she heard the words echo through her sister's lip. She meant every word of that sentence and she could feel the harshness of it. Brie lowered her head as Nikki continued to berate her, "I want nothing more to do with you. You're a liar. You're a bitch. How did you expect me to be all forgiving after the hell you put me through? Now, when I say this – I really meant it. As of today, do not call me your friend, do not call me your sister, do not call me family because you mean absolutely nothing to me and I am done. For all I know, I do not have a sister anymore."

It was definitely very harsh but also very straightforward. Nikki was telling the truth and Brie had the duty to accept it. She took one last look at her sister as she gave her an unforgiving scolding look. She looked up at the person she shares DNA with and slowly turned her back to her and began to walk down the hall. She looked back one last time and knew she would not be seeing her sister again.

The Bella twins were a broken pair now. As Brie disappeared, Nikki took a moment to reflect over what had just occurred. She knew she did the right thing. She did the right thing for herself and finally got some justice over the dramatic events that took place. Finally, she ended her senior year on a good note.

She began to walk down the halls once again – this time with a smile – as all thoughts of her ugly past with Brie were faded out and the memories she shared at West Beverly filled her mind.

* * *

John was honking the horn to the car, signaling it was time for Torrie to get out of the house. The movers had taken the final pieces of furniture and boxes into the moving trucks and they were headed out momentarily.

Torrie could not accept the fact that she was leaving this house. This place was her home for years and saying goodbye would be difficult – a lot more difficult than she had expected. This is just a house – why should she be crying over this whole thing?

As she examined the empty living room, she would put together the missing pieces and where everything would go. Then she looked at the corner of her home and noticed something her eye missed before. The door border by the closet had a few words written on it. As she came closer, she noticed four names on the borders. Her name, John, Nathan and Ella written onto the border – it brought tears into her eyes.

At that very moment, John had come into the empty house to find Torrie crying as she looked at the border. John came over, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek. He asked her, "What's the matter?"

"There are so many memories here that I just can't seem to grasp. John, this was our first house together. This is Nathan and Ella's first home. I just did not think that leaving this house would be this hard. I thought it was going to be easier."

"There really are great memories."

Torrie broke away from his embrace and walked to one spot, "This was where Nathan took his first steps," and to the next one. "Ella wrote on the wall with her crayons and then you had to repaint the wall." Torrie then walked for the door and said, "and this was the door you walked through that night – that night you finally came home after I thought you were gone."

"Tor –"

"This house is just a bunch of memories crumbled into one."

John could see how this was extremely difficult for Torrie to handle. A home carries so much sentimental value – especially your first home. He started developing regretful feelings over the decision to leave Beverly Hills. Maybe he could fix that.

"Torrie, we don't have to go. I'll call Derrick up and tell him that we want to stay here and we can't do this. We don't have to go anywhere."

She could not just let John give up that quickly. Whatever pains she has, she will have to deal with it, "No, we're going. This is something you really want to do and I can't stop you from it. You did this for me and I am going to do this for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. The kids are both really excited and I am excited. I'm just also pretty upset that we have to leave. I really love this place but I know I'll grow to love our new home. I left the keys in the kitchen for the realtor and we took everything."

John extended his hand and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

Torrie gladly accepted his hand. He slowly guided her to the door where she grasped the wall once more and paused. With the feeling of tears coming through her eyes, she quietly said, "goodbye house."

With the door shut, she could see the car was packed and ready to go. Both Ella and Nathan were tucked into the backseat while Chris and Trish were waiting outside for the pair.

"I cannot believe you are leaving. We were so hoping to be closer to you guys since we were moving here," Chris spoke of his hopes when he thought of the idea of living closer to his family.

"We're leaving now and then you guys will be moving here. Isn't that just crazy?" said Torrie.

"Everything is changing," Trish put it plain and simple. "But hey, that is life. It's meant to change. It would be pretty boring if we all had the same thing."

John looked at his watch and noticed they should have left already, "We got to go Torrie – we have to beat the truck to Santa Barbara. Guys, thanks for coming and helping put some things away."

"It was our pleasure. Since we are in town for a few days, we thought we would spend them with you," Trish came in an embraced Torrie. "Call us the minute you get there and send me pictures of the house."

"I am not sending you a single picture. Your going to have to come out and see it yourself – so get ready to take the 2 hour drive," joked the pregnant blonde.

"Challenge accepted, Wilson."

Torrie moved onto Chris and John moved over to Trish. Torrie embraced her cousin – who she should really call a brother since he has acted so much like one, "take care of mom and dad for me. You and Trish are going to be so happy to be moving back here."

"We're happy to be back. It stinks that you won't be here with us but we'll be sure to visit and you better visit, too," Chris told his cousin.

As the couples parted away from one another, they gave one last wave before heading into the car. Once in the vehicle, they started to pull away from the driveway one last time. The family waved down to Chris and Trish as they pulled onto the street.

They took one last glimpse of the house and they were off.

Torrie stared out of her window as they were soon going to pass West Beverly, one last time. It was really touching to see a place that transformed her one last time. They passed by the very spot, where her mother dropped her and Chris off on their first day.

_"Wow, so this is West Beverly" Torrie said seeing all the teenagers around the school. It looked like a jungle in a way._

_"Yeah, this is our new school," He replied._

_Torrie and Chris looked around their new surroundings as they began to walk to the entrance. They saw so many different people from so many different cliques as they walked up the pathway leading to the entrance. They opened the doors to the school not knowing what was in store for them as they entered the school._

Oh, how the time has passed. As they passed by the school, Torrie looked straight forward onto the road. John was resting his hand gently on the hand rest when she took her hand and clutched it with his. John looked away for the moment and smiled.

"I have an idea if you're interested."

"What is it?"

John put his lips together, pursing the two before saying, "how about we grab something at the Peach Pit before we head onto the road?"

* * *

**A/N:** It's getting closer and closer, people. Two more chapters remain or perhaps three with what I may be planning but I do not know at this point. This was definitely a sad chapter for me but I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! Also, with the story ending - do you have a favorite part of this story? Favorite couple? I would love to hear what you all have to say!

_Next Chapter - The start of summer begins with Jack's graduation bash while Eve begins a journey of a lifetime._


	54. Livin' a Teenage Dream

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Fifty Four - __Livin' a Teenage Dream_

What do you pack in your suitcase when you're off to live in some foreign country for 2 months? It was not simple nor was it simple when your friend is supposed to be helping you in the process but is laying on your bed, reading the nice things people wrote in your yearbook.

"Maryse, should I –" as she turned around, she stopped and stared at Maryse who was rolling through the pages of Eve's yearbook. "I called you over because I thought you would help me decide what clothes I should take with me."

"Hold on just a second –Zack Ryder called you a 'hot babe' in your yearbook?" she chuckled and decided to read it out loud. "Hey hot babe. It was nice knowing you. It is going to be sad to watch you leave but I will love watching you go. Keep in touch, Zack Ryder. Oh my god – that was hilarious!"

"You are really not being too helpful, you know that? I have to pack up two months worth of things. Can't you be a little more supportive?"

"Okay, I'll help," Maryse got off of Eve's bed. She began to fold some clothes and was noticing some things she was about to question. "Eve, your taking this? And this? Oh my god, and this? When was the last time you went shopping – with me that is?"

"I'm not taking that with me. That's my winter coat. If I had not said it before, I am going to Barcelona. I will not be needing that but I have packed my five bathing suits already."

Maryse pursed a smile together and titled her head, "I've taught you so well. I will be joining you for a little while at least but I may be coming by myself," with the fight she had earlier with Ted, she was not too sure if she would be there with him or not.

"Wait – isn't Ted coming on the trip? Did something happen between the two of you?"

She might as well explain to her what happened since that is what friends are for.

"After graduation, Ted and I were talking. He was supposed to come on the trip but would be leaving a little earlier than expected because he has some business meeting about his bar or restaurant he wants to open up," Maryse scuffled through the clothes and began folding them as she went on. "I told him that I don't think it is a good idea and how he expects to accomplish this. He doesn't know what he is doing and I just don't want to see him fail."

"Why do you think he is going to fail?"

"He's not going to CU with us," revealed Maryse. "He just wants to open this place up without any sort of education on how to get something done. How can he accomplish something like this? It's not that I don't think he can do this – I just think he could do this with some education. He assumed that I think he is stupid which is not the case. I am just worried about him and now he's angry with me."

It has nothing to do with his dream. Maryse feels as if he is not prepared to embark on a journey like this yet. She wants him to succeed but senses that he will fail without the proper preparations.

"He's going to be at Jack's party tonight and I don't know what it is going to be like to face him."

"I think you should let him do it. Now, don't get all jumpy but I know Ted. When he put his mind to something, he achieves it. He is really dedicated. I see the concern but Maryse – in life, your not always going to succeed. There's going to be time when you fail. You've got to let him go. Ted's a big boy, you know."

Her statement certainly made perfectly good sense. Life is not life without a few battles and mistakes. Maryse had to let go of this idea and let Ted be himself. She knows he will do well but has her doubts. However, she is not going to let that get in the way of her relationship.

"If he makes a mistake, you'll be there to help him get back onto his feet. This is all a part of life, Maryse and you have to realize that."

"Seriously – where the hell are you going to be when I need advice? I expect you to check your email daily while you're in Spain because your inbox is going to be full of emails asking for advice," the blonde had playfully thrown in a joke as she arranged some of her clothes. "I still can't believe your leaving. I mean, I will see you there once but it just won't be the same."

"Before you know it, I am going to be right back here."

As he mind traveled through the memories she has had up until this point, Maryse was surprised by the friendship she had with Eve. It had gone up and down quiet a few times. She had to recall it to a friend.

"We had such a rocky year, you know that? We spent half of senior year at each other's throats and here we are – best friends. Now it's like nothing had happened," Maryse was showing off her emotional side as she thought about the rollercoaster year that she shared with Eve. "I am really happy we patched things together and moved on. The rest of senior year would have not been the same."

"I do not even want to think about the things you and I said to one another. I think a popular word was bitch, right?" she even could not believe the stuff they would call each other. It was really disgusting.

"I mean, I am a bitch," Maryse openly admitted. "I can't lie there. Let's just forget all of that and look forward to the future. There's no reason to dwell on the past. We're best friends and it is going to stay like that – you hear me?"

Eve turned to Maryse and pulled her into a hug, "and if you ever need me, I'll be there!" After pulling away from the hug, Eve returned to packing, "I cannot believe I am going to be in Barcelona in under 24 hours with Cody –"

Instantly, Maryse picked up on what she had heard. _Did Eve just say she was going with Cody?_ This was certainly going to be interesting. "Wait, did you just say Cody?"

She froze like a block of ice and her eyes widened. Maryse laid a devious smirk onto her face while Eve slowly turned around to face her French Canadian friend. Eve brushed her hair back and proceeded to deny, "I said Alex" even though she knew what she said.

"Do I look like I'm stupid?"

Eve turned her head and gave Maryse an annoyed expression, "I said Alex, and I didn't say Cody."

This pushed Maryse further to ask questions, "So what is going on between the two of you? It's like this whole run down love story."

"There is nothing going on."

"Then why did you two kiss at prom?" As she dropped some of her clothes, Eve looked over shocked at the blonde. "Before you give me that whole look, Cody told Ted who I choked it out of."

The cat was out of the bag. Eve just nodded, "yes, we did."

"So you can't tell me that doesn't mean anything? Did you feel something?"

"It doesn't mean anything and so what if I did feel something? It doesn't mean that there's a reason why. Cody and I are the past. We happened and now it's over. I've moved on with someone else. Cody – I mean," there she goes stumbling again. "Alex! Alex – I am with Alex now and we are happy."

Maryse could not be fooled, "whatever you say, Eve."

Maryse knew what she heard and would not believe Eve's little lie. She proceeded to help Eve pack and decided to drop it. There must be a reason why Eve said that. She was thinking of Cody and all she could do was deny.

* * *

She never imagined seeing herself coming to the cemetery on her graduation day. This day was supposed to reek of happiness and joy however she was feeling the exact opposite as her dug into the grass. The sun was still out on that early Saturday evening. The temperature was warm and had a bit of a breeze to everything. Kelly's hair was whisked away into the air as she passed by the graves of those who went before her. In her hand, she held a bag with a concealed object inside, as she was coming closer and closer to her destination.

Kelly had a difficult task to complete today. She thought her speech was going to be difficult but that would not even come close to this. Uttering the words that Evan had written down was immensely challenging. However, she overcame the odds.

Kelly was closing in on her objective. A few moments later, she was standing right before the tombstone that belonged to her late love. _Evan Bourne _– was written in the fine print. The grave had been decked out in floral arrangements. The scent of flowers had traveled and embraced Kelly's senses.

Kelly kneeled down onto her knees as she placed her hand over the tombstone – going over Evan's name with her hand.

"I did it. I really did it," the blonde had expressed her relief to Evan about completing the speech. "And you were there to see it all. I saw you – I saw you with my very own eyes. You were sitting in your seat. I was so happy to see you. I wish you could have stayed longer"

"I also brought this for you," in her purse, she had the graduation cap. She pulled it out and placed it right before his grave. "You have officially graduated, Evan."

She completed part one of her task and there was still the second part. "When I saw you, I realized something. You got your chance to say goodbye. You got your chance to say your final words. You got your chance to say thank you. I didn't Evan – I did not get that chance," revealed the blonde.

Kelly did not get to say goodbye. At the funeral, she was not ready to say goodbye or thank you. She did not feel it coming but now as she stared at his grave, she was reminded that she never got the chance. Now with all the time in the world, she was ready.

"You told me I was the greatest thing to happen to you. You told me you were the lucky one when really; you were the greatest thing to happen to me. You were the greatest thing to happen to all of us," confessed the blonde.

"Thank you for everything you did. You did so much for me. You were there for me when I needed you, you were there when I needed help, you were there when I felt like giving up and you were there to love me," the droplets gave away from her eyes and came down her smooth cheeks. "If it wasn't for you, I would have never become the person I am today. You carved me into the person I am. You made be a better person."

She just wish she could be in his arms right not as she wept beside his grave. Her fingers traced his name.

"Life will never be the same without you. There is nothing you can say that will change us. There will always be something missing in my life – a hole in my heart. That hole is going to be there until we meet again and I know I will see you again. We are all going to see you again one day. I don't know when but I know I will. The next time I see you, I know I will never lose you again."

This duo will be reunited one day. When will that day come? He doesn't know neither does she. It could happen tomorrow. It could happen 70 years from now. No one knows when that day will come but she knows that day will be a good day.

"I told myself I was not going to cry," with a free hand, she wiped her tears back. "I just cannot help myself."

As the sun stared down at the blonde, she took the moment to reflect. Despite the tragic events, there were so many good memories she shared with Evan that she will never forget. That is all that she has left of Evan – memories. They are always going to be they're to keep her warm at night and when she is feeling upset.

"I remembered when you told me you liked me. I had to fish it out of you until you finally told me. You ran off and I felt like a complete idiot for what I did. Then when I found you and told you I felt the same way, you were so happy. It was like yesterday" that was a memory she surely could never forget.

"And this is the part I did not want to get to know," with the time slipping away, Kelly knew time had come for the hard part of this all. "And like you told me right before you left, you will have a very special place in my heart."

Kelly came back to her feet but her tears dropped into the soft dirt as she stood up straight. Her wailing eyes looked down at the tombstone. Her lips began to tremble and that was when she thought she would not be able to do this. She was just so darn close to getting some closure. She almost thought she was going to fall back down on her knees but then she felt a force like no other that wrapped around her body. This feeling had kept her body up and it was right then where she felt she could finally end this.

"This is just goodbye for now but I will see you again, Evan. One day –"

She gazed out at the grave one last time and turned her back away and started the walk back to her car. She was not looking back. This force with her told her to keep looking forward because that is how someone is going to get through this. They cannot go backward but begin the ascent forward.

She could already see Nikki waiting for her by the car and it was at that moment she knew everything was going to be just fine. Life is going to go on and she had to go along with it.

"Is everything okay?" asked her concerned friend.

Kelly could only answer with a smile, "everything is great."

* * *

It was the party of the century – at least that is what Jack is hoping to turn this party into. It was only a few hours ago when Jack's dad had left to his film shoot and this Beverly Hills mansion would be transformed. The moment his father was out the door, Jack had begun the proper preparations. The DJ was called in; the kegs of beer rolled in and the Jacuzzi and pool were at the perfect temperature.

The crowds of students had started to roll into his backyard and he was not really expecting things to escalate quickly. The DJ began to spin starting with Swedish House Mafia's Don't You Worry Child to get things rolling and it was a great song choice.

Jack rushed over to the pool when he was greeted by Ted, "dude, this is one sick party. How do you manage to pull this together?"

He laughed, "The Swag has his ways, DiBiase. I got to go and find Tiffany. Is everyone else here?"

"Cody and Dolph are but I haven't seen the girls."

"I'll be right back."

When Jack disappeared, Ted was left alone for the moment. He sat down beside the tree in Jack's yard, gently sipping at the beer in his red plastic cup. He stuffed his free hand into his pocket and glanced down at the moment. As she stared at the ground, he was a little surprised to find freshly pedicured toes in his view. As his eyes connected the dots, he discovered the person before him.

"Hey –"

Her blonde hair gently rested along her curvy figure. She was dressed in a cute blue and white polka dot dress. She could only offer a smile as he continued to sip his beer, "Jack seems to be throwing a great party. Not as close to a Ouellet production but it's pretty good."

"Yeah," this was getting awkward and fast. "I am going to go and –"

He was not going to get away that easily, "Hold on just a second." Maryse pulled back Ted with her free hand, "I would like to talk to you."

"If you are going to break up with me because of the fight, then let's just get it over with."

Maryse had to admit she was a little shocked to hear the edginess coming out of Ted. She was beyond confused, "you think I am going to break up with you because of my choice and the fight we had?"

He looked confused and responded with a simple message, "yeah."

She smirked for a second, thinking this situation was pretty humorous, "okay, so we had a fight. Couples fight Ted – they tend to fight a lot but that does not mean they give up right away. Welcome to a real relationship where mistakes and disagreements happen quiet a lot."

"Then what do you want to talk to me about?"

Maryse slipped her hand into her bag and pulled something out of her purse. It was a card. She came forward and handed it to him, "I would like to give you this."

Ted accepted the card into his hands. He gazed upon the paper. His name was printed on their along with his phone number and address. He was completely stumped as to why Maryse gave him this, "why are you giving this to me? It's just a piece of paper with my name on it."

Of course he did not understand so she had to give him that little push, "it's a business card Ted. Your business card for your business."

"Wait, a minute – you're giving me this, why?"

"It's my way of saying that I love you and I want you to be happy and if opening this bar is what you want to do, just know that I support you and I will be right there for you."

This had to be one of the least most selfish things she had ever done.

She continued, "I am so sorry about what happened before. I was being really unreasonable and I did not understand where you were coming from but now I know. This is not about me; this is about you and what you want to do with your life. I want you to be happy and no matter what you have to do to get to there, I will always support you because I love you."

Maryse always had one side to her but Ted had begun to unravel the other side to her and this was something he had never seen before. This was all he wanted – he just wanted the support. She was the only person he wanted to hear those words from because she is the one that matters.

"That is all I ever wanted to hear," he came forward and pulled the beautiful blonde into his arms. Their lips crashed together and it was like nothing had happened between the two of them. "I am going to make you so proud. Trust me, you are going to be so surprised to see what I create."

"You've made me proud already," the blonde smiled as she prepared Ted for her second piece of news. "And I've decided that we won't go to France, instead I want to be here with you when you start opening up the bar."

"You don't have too."

She pursed her lips together and nodded, "I want to Ted. If I have to be away from you for a few weeks, I would be miserable. You and I will spend the summer right here in California – just the two of us."

As he stared into her crystal eyes, he could feel a brand new Maryse was coming in. With high school finished, Maryse had prepared herself to become a new person and this was something Ted was going to like. This was the very reason why he even fell for her in the first place.

* * *

Jack knew he did a good job at throwing parties and this one would surely go down in history as one of his best yet. He just knew the exact elements needed to throw an awesome party. He had a sweet DJ, gorgeous ladies, booze for miles and the craziest group of people he has ever met – it was all he needed in this case.

As the party went on, he could see Tiffany smiling from across the room they were in. He decided to walk over there. As soon as he made it to his girlfriend, he slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"Are you having a good time, babe?"

"I am having a blast. Isn't it crazy that we are not around high school students but around high school graduates? I am just so amazed that we can actually say that."

"And come this fall, you will be calling yourself a Harvard freshman."

Jack kissed her cheek again but Tiffany gave off a look of concern. For the past few months, Jack was always under the impression that she was going to Harvard except she is not. Tiffany accepted a different offer. As much as she loved Harvard, another school she loved even more accepted her college application. New York University.

Shortly after her acceptance to Harvard, Tiffany applied at NYU and got an acceptance immediately after. She was honored to have the opportunity to go to Harvard but New York University was her dream school. It was just that with everything that has happened over the past few months, she never got around the topic. It floated in the back of her mind.

"Actually, there is something I need to tell you about that."

He was puzzled, "what do you have to tell me?"

Here it goes. Tiffany took a deep breath as she looked at her boyfriend and smiled, "well, I don't know how you are going to feel about this but I made a decision. I am not going to go to Harvard."

Jack was taken back. Why would Tiffany not want to go to Harvard, especially when he gave her the check to go to Harvard? It was not making sense.

"Tiff, why aren't you going to Harvard? You worked so hard to get in and now you're not going to go?"

"No, I am still going to go to school."

"What? You're going to go to CU? Tiff, Harvard is a school anyone would dream of going to and you are going to ditch that awesome opportunity?" Jack was amazed by Tiffany's decision but not in a good way. Who would not want to go to Harvard? It is only the best school on this planet and Tiffany was crazy enough to decline it.

Tiffany patted Jack on the shoulder, "Jack, can you let me finish before you start freaking out?" asked the blonde. "I am not going to Harvard but I am still going to school. I just decided I wanted to go elsewhere."

Jack looked on as he could see where Tiffany was going with this, "Could you tell me? I'm getting a little worried now."

"Okay, now I loved the chance to go to Harvard. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity but I got another college that wants me to. I applied to NYU and I got accepted! I am going to NYU! I'm going to New York!"

Tiffany expressed her excitement but was waiting for a reaction from Jack. He was pretty still before he turned a smile, "New York? Holy crap, Tiff! NYU! You're going to NYU!"

He embraced the blonde with such excitement. He always knew how bright and promising of a future Tiffany had and these were the first steps to it.

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be? Listen, Harvard is great but I want you to be happy and if going to NYU is going to make you happy, I am happy. There is nothing more than I would want than just to see you happy."

Tiffany pulled her head back and crashed her head into his chest. She had to be the luckiest girl in the world. She graduated high school, going to one of the world's prestigious schools and to top this all off, she had the greatest boyfriend that anyone could ever have.

* * *

She had tried so hard to postpone the goodbye but with time slipping away, Eve had to get over with it. Despite the difficultly, this was something that she had to do. This was not goodbye forever but with all that had happen recently; it was going to make it one of the hardest goodbyes ever.

Eve tossed back her brown hair and placed her red cup on the table before her and headed into Jack's dining room. Everyone was right there. They were all so happy, laughing away and sharing conversations. This just reminded her how much she was going to miss this place. Her summer would not be the same without any of them there.

With two texts from her mother telling her to get home so they can take her to the airport, she had to budge, "Guys, I kinda of have to leave now. I've gotten texts from my parents that I should have left 30 minutes ago. I have my flight to catch."

Then it was suddenly silent when she had made the announcement and she could feel the somber attitude that was present between them all. With everyone seeming down and out, Tiffany looked over and decided she should initiate the goodbyes. She came over to Eve and embraced the Latina, "ugh, I am going to miss you so much but have a safe and wonderful trip. You are going to have a blast and call me once you get there."

"Of course I will."

Jack came next and embraced the brunette; "Have a great trip, Torres. Party it up, all night long."

She giggled at his remark, "twenty four seven, Swagg."

Dolph came next and held Eve quiet tightly, "Have a good time in Barcelona but remember that Beverly Hills is still number 1."

She laughed, "Maybe when I get back, your hair will be even blonder."

Eve turned to her friend Nikki who was next in this long line and embraced her with opens arms, "you are leaving me behind with all blondes. I hope you know what you are doing to me by doing that."

"I think you'll be okay, Nikki," joked the Latina.

"Other than that, have a wonderful time and please send me a postcard."

Ted came up next and welcomed the traveller into his arms, "take care of yourself and have a good time. You're going to be missed around here."

"Thanks Ted."

Maryse seemed pretty emotional as he mascara was a little smudged but ran into the brunette's arms, "oh come here! You are going to have a fabulous time in Barcelona. You must try the sangria at Besos – it is to die for and go shopping at the plaza. There is this cute store you would love!"

"Thanks Maryse – I am going to miss you out of this world personality."

"Have a lovely trip and call us the minute you land! By the rate this night is going, I think we will still be up!"

With Maryse out of the way, Eve embraced her next friend, Kelly. She tightly held the blonde knowing the pain she had been going through as of recently, "I feel so bad for leaving especially with everything that has happened. I hope you can forgive me."

Kelly did not want her to feel at fault so a decision she made and reassured her friend, "Eve, you have no reason to feel bad. Life goes on and if this is going to make you happy, you should do it. You have been such an amazing friend over the last few weeks and I cannot thank you more for that. This is your chance to have a good time and you should take the chance."

"If you need me, I'll get on a plane and come straight here," said Eve as she pulled away from the blonde.

Seven down and only one more to go and this one is probably going to be the hardest one yet. Eve could feel the pain in Cody's eyes as they made eye contact. Her heart was beginning to cripple as she looked into his daring eyes. This was going to be harder than she thought.

Cody seemed a little hesitant. He knows the goodbye is not forever but sometimes you never know. He just felt this was going to be permanent. His mind was telling him to tell her to stay but how could he go and do that?

Eve slipped her arms around his neck and Cody stood there for a moment before ultimately wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging the brunette.

There was this huge rush of emotion coming over her as he held her in his arms. One part of her wish she could stay right there but that other art was driving her further away from him. She knew that leaving was the best choice for the both of them. He needed a fresh start and so did she.

"Goodbye Cody. Take care of yourself."

He was absolutely speechless and he just could not get those words out. It was by far way too difficult for him to come to his senses and say goodbye. All he wanted was for her to stay right here in his arms. His friends could see the heartbreak in his eyes.

He could feel her slipping away. She broke the hug and she was skidding away right through his fingers. She left him with a soft smile as she headed for the door. Once she was there, she turned back to her friends and said, "you guys are such amazing friends," uttered the Latina. "Thanks for being there for me."

And off she went, Eve Torres was on her way to begin a huge journey.

The friends divided up but Cody stood back while his friends returned to the party. Ted, Kelly and Maryse were the only ones to remain with him.

"Dude, I know how you must be feeling," said Ted to comfort his friend. "But maybe this is for the better. Maybe it is time that you begin to move on."

"As much as I do not want to admit it, Ted has a point," agreed the French Canadian as she came over to Cody, rubbing his back gently.

"But I do not want to let her go. I do not want to see her leave. I am going to go after her – I'm going after her," admitted Cody as he looked around to his friends.

The three of them looked shocked as they heard what Cody said. Kelly stepped up and asks, "You're going to go after her?!"

"I know that deep down inside she does not want to go. She wants to stay right here and I've got to go and bring her back now."

Someone had to say it and that someone was Maryse, "Oh my god. Cody is going to pull a Ross and Rachel?! I could drive you to the airport – I just don't have a crummy yellow cab but I guess my Mercedes will do."

Was he really about to do this? Was Cody just about to run out this door and stop Eve from getting on that plane? He was sick of letting things just run away from him. He had to take some control over his life. If he wanted something, he had to go out and get it. Eve may have turned him down once but he knows that deep inside her heart, she still has feelings for him and it was his job to get that out of her.

"Dude, are you serious? Chase down Eve," his best friend was in total shock with his revelation but he was not obliged to it. Ted knew how in love Cody was in with the beautiful Latina.

"I'm going to do it. Maryse, could I borrow your car?"

A little hesitant but ultimately, she dug into her purse and pulled out her keys, handing them to the former football player, "I could drive you! I'll be the Phoebe of this story!"

Cody gave Maryse a sour look, "I think this is something I need to do by myself. I promise I will not scratch up the car or anything."

She was reluctant however, she tossed the keys over to him, "One scratch and you will be buying me a new car, you hear me?"

"Thanks!" With the music beginning to rise up once again, Cody could feel the energy running through his body. This enormous good feeling rushed through his veins and his adrenaline was pumping.

His life could change in a matter of moments. After months of waiting, Cody could finally be reuniting with the girl of his dream. The girl who makes his heart skip a beat.

* * *

Tiffany and Nikki sat with one another as Tiffany discussed her excitement over attending NYU in the fall. Nikki, who was secretly jealous, always dreamed of going to NYU however due to come complications, she was placed on the waiting list for the time being. As of now, she would be going to CU with the rest of the gang but she kept her fingers crossed that would change.

"I know you have been to New York before so you have to tell me all you can about it," the vibrant blonde was jittery with all the excitement about her upcoming adventure. "I have never been to the east coast at all."

Nikki could go on and on about New York. It was a city she dreamed to live in and she was excited to go back soon, "It's so beautiful. It's just chaotic and crazy and that is something I love oh so much about it. You are going to have an amazing time."

As Nikki looked into the crowds of kids that filled up Jack's backyard, Nikki found a bright blonde haired boy coming her way. He did not seem happy at all and he was coming right for her.

"Tiffany, would you mind if I steal Nikki away for a second? I would like to talk to her for a moment."

Tiffany perked her lips together, "sure." She answered and gave the two some privacy.

With the moment set, Dolph asked, "Let's head inside. We'll find a room so we can actually hear one another." She nodded. Dolph led Nikki back to Jack's house where they found a secluded room where they could speak.

Nikki was a bit reluctant and was in no mood to deal with any of this right now so she put it as blunt as she could, "alright, what do you want to talk about? I actually want to enjoy this party and not spend the evening staring at you."

"Well, that was a bit harsh."

"As harsh as sleeping with my sister?"

Obviously, this was where the conversation was going to go. "Nikki, this is what I came to talk to you about. I cannot take back what I did. It happened and it's over. If I could go back in time, I would have stopped myself. You have to understand that I was tricked. Your sister tricked me."

"It's true. This happened and there is no taking it back."

"Exactly! I just want to explain to you how bad I feel about this. I swear, I play the scene back in my mind hundreds of times and I thought of different ways where I could have done something differently but I can't Nikki. There is nothing I can do except to ask you for forgiveness. A second chance. You know the real me, you know the real Dolph and that I would never do something along the lines of this."

Over the course of their turbulent relationship, she realized that Dolph was never capable of doing something like this. Nikki knew that Dolph had a good heart but then this happens and she cannot just take him back like this. She could not make a decision right off the bat on what she wanted to do with this all.

"You and I have been through so much over the last few months and I have gotten to know an amazing human being but this is something I cannot just let go Dolph. Did you realize how much you hurt me? It felt like a dagger going through my chest."

"I know and I am sorry. It will never happen again. I don't ever want to lose you."

Nikki could not have it end like this and knew she had an opportunity ahead to think this situation out, "listen, I am going to the Hamptons in a few weeks to visit my aunt. She has a beach house out there. I am going to take my time and think about this. I cannot make a decision right away. I need a little time to figure this whole thing out. Can you give me that?"

As much as it pained him, he owes her this. With all the heartfelt pain he caused her over the last few weeks, this was one thing he could give her, "Yeah, of course. Take as much time as you need but I hope you know I will be waiting for an answer."

"I know you will."

Nikki came forth and embraced him. She sunk her head into his chest. He was wearing a blue polo and she could smell the cologne he was wearing. She loved that smell. She certainly missed that smell. Dolph did not know exactly how to take this but welcomed the embrace because before he knew it, she pulled away and out of the room.

This appeared to be the final chance that Nikki and Dolph could fix their problem and move further with their relationship. It was only a matter of time until a decision was made.

* * *

"Your seat is 44A – a window – just as you requested. Here is your ticket and you are scheduled to begin boarding at 11:30. Have a safe flight."

The airline representative handed the Latina her ticket and passport. The two exchanged smiles. Eve saw her luggage be pulled away on the conveyer belt. As she accepted both items into her hands, she proceeded to thank the airline representative, "thank you."

Eve tucked her ticket into her bag and headed off to the security checkpoint. Her brown locks would bounce in the air with each step. Her parents had dropped her off just a few moments ago. Water appeared in the eyes of her mother while her father stood strong when they said their goodbyes. Being the only child took a toll on her parents and it was particularly difficult to see their one daughter depart to spend two months in a foreign country. Lucky for them, her parents would be visiting her in the not so distant future.

The Latina faced the enormous flight stats board and could see her flight right in between two other flights. Alex had taken an early flight that evening. Unfortunately, the flight was full and Eve could not get a ticket on board so she settled for a later flight. Alex would be waiting for her at the apartment she was scheduled to stay at so it was good to know that when she arrived in Spain, a familiar face would be there waiting for her.

_You are ACTUALLY going on the adventure of a lifetime and this is actually happening right now._ Eve herself could not believe this is going to happen, even as she took her first steps toward security.

But suddenly that all came to a halt when she heard her name being called out.

"Eve! Eve!"

The brunette followed the voice. Her body twisted into a knot and she gazed her eyes on the person who was calling her name. Her eyes meet his ocean colored one and she released a whimper, "Cody?"

This was not something she was expecting from him. Here she was about to go on a journey of a lifetime and he was standing right before her. This could not have been real. Was this all a dream?"

"I'm here Eve."

"I can see that," answered Eve as Cody was coming closer to her. "What are you doing here? My flight is about to start boarding."

This was the moment Cody had waited for all along. He had finally got Eve right where he wanted. Certainly, there was no easy way of doing this. He could feel the words coming getting stuck in his throat. The sweat came on and he could feel the drops going against his back.

Nothing in this world drove him crazier than this.

"I cannot let you get on that plane. I cannot watch you go half way across this world when you belong right here," Cody's soft words touch the Latina's beating heart. It thumped at a faster rate than ever.

She was confused. How did all of these feelings come rushing back? "I don't understand you. One minute you are over me and the next you want me back in your arms. Does any of this make sense to you? I thought we were happier apart and now all of this comes up."

This situation certainly came out of nowhere but somewhere inside Cody's heart, he never had let her go.

"I thought that was what I needed. I thought that was what you needed too. Eve, I cannot explain any of this. All I know is that after our night together, I felt those same feelings swirling around my heart. Those same feelings that hit me the moment my eyes landed on you on your first day at West Bev."

The Latina understood his feelings but this was something she was not prepared for. "Cody, I don't know what to say."

"I honestly thought prom night was going to change a lot of things between the two of us. I thought this was my second chance with you," confessed the raven-haired boy. His heart was beating at an incredible rate. "Then Alex showed up and I felt as if I lost you right in that moment. I was jealous. I saw the way he was making you laugh, the way he held you, the way he kissed you –"

"And that is something I cannot do. I am with Alex. I am in a healthy relationship with him."

"That's not a real relationship."

"Oh, really? You are going to tell me what a real relationship is?" implied Eve. "I understand you feel this way but this is not the time or place to handle this."

He could feel her slipping away through his hands. His fingers here sliding away and he needed to grab her back into his arms.

"Evan always told me I should not live my life with any regrets; that I have to take risks and challenge myself and I am doing this right now. I'm doing that right now. I am taking the biggest risk of my life. I'm putting my heart on the line because I am so damn sure that this is the right thing to do," Eve could see the look in Cody's eyes after what he had said. There was something new that sparked into Cody's soul. A fire that was long buried but was rising from the ashes.

Eve felt a flame ignite in her little heart. Cody had triggered this but she could not allow this, "Cody, I –"

"I love you, Eve. I love you more than anything."

Those were the words her whimpered out. This was the risk he was taking. His attempt to stop Eve would be his last one. If this did not pay off, then what would? Cody was not going to sit back and wonder what if he never stopped her? What if he just let her slip right though his fingers?

"I don't even know what to say."

"Tell me you feel the same way. That is all I need to hear. Say those three little words."

Water rushed into her green eyes. As she blinked, the tear rolled down her cheek. This was all too emotional for her to handle right now. With her free hand, she wiped the tear that rolled down her face.

"Cody," she took a deep breath and the expression he had on her face was breaking her heart, piece by piece. Her next few words could devastate him. "I cannot say that now. There was a point where I could but this is not the time. You and I are on two different levels."

Despite hearing the words come directly out of her mouth, he just could not let it go, "You don't mean that."

"I do mean that," said Eve as she grabbed a hold of Cody's hand. "Cody, you are so special. You are one of the most amazing human beings I have ever met and that I got a chance to love. You possess such a good heart. I am so lucky to call you my friend but as your friend, I do not want to lie to you. I cannot lie to you. I'm sorry I cannot give you what you want to hear. I'm so sorry."

As ugly as it was going to sound, she had to get this off her chest. The pain weighed heavy on her heart. It was time to set it free.

"I will always love you, no matter what. You will always be in my heart but my heart is not here. My heart is elsewhere. This is killing me to tell you all of this. You do not deserve it," Eve went in and embraced Cody. She wrapped her arms around his strong neck and told him, "Please do not hate me for this. This is just as hard for me as it is for you."

And that was right. Eve Torres was confused and was unaware of the right way she should handle this situation. As of now, she had to let Cody go. This was the right thing to do – for the sake of both of them.

As she pulled away from Cody, she kissed his soft cheek. The feeling would linger on her lips for a while. The two were face to face yet again. Their eyes locked onto one another.

"Goodbye Cody."

Eve's fingers slid right through his. She lifted her bag and tossed it over her shoulder. He was not making a single movement or gesture. Cody was like a block of ice as he watched Eve walk further and further away. Before he knew it, Eve had made her way through security and when she got to the other side, she locked her eyes onto Cody, who was still shell shocked.

The pain erupted through her body. As difficult as a decision this was, it was the right thing to do. This had to be done. Eve can now put closure on this relationship and look forward to the future.

The same could not be said to Cody as all he could feel was his heart being ripped out of his chest. The blank expression had said it all – Cody's heart was officially broken.

* * *

When she was coming here earlier, Kelly had it imprinted in her mind that she was going to have a miserable time here but the party was turning out to be pretty darn amazing. There was a really good vibe flowing throughout the festivities. This was exactly what she needed. With Evan's death and Torrie and John moving away, she really needed to be surrounded by happiness because she knew that would rub right off her.

As the evening progressed, Kelly was getting a drink when she was interrupted by Maryse, who was being her usual self, "Kel, you are missing out on something amazing. Layla is puking all over in the neighbor's pool. It is something that you cannot miss. I got a few pictures but I don't know if I should upload them. That's a bit mean, even for me," and then she thought about it and reversed her decision. "Ah, what the heck. I've done worse."

"So that is where you disappeared to? I was hoping you could keep me company."

"I cannot stay long. Ted just texted me. He needs me. I'll be right back, Kel."

And like a bolt of lightning, Maryse disappeared and Kelly just wanted some company and her company went straight for the DJ booth. Kelly pursed her lips together and realized she was all alone again.

When she finished pouring her drink, she walked into a corner and stood there. She wished so much for just a little company and she may be getting it from the person she least expected.

She could see a foxy lady coming her way. The red locks could not go unnoticed. Alicia Fox strutted her body over to Kelly and said, "Hi Kelly." Her voice was a bit cheery but different from the usual tone she holds.

"Hi Alicia," a confused Kelly did not know how she was to respond to Alicia, seeing that the two of them have never seen eye to eye.

Alicia was just going to flat out say what she wanted to say and move on. "Instead of keeping you wondering over why I am here, I am just going to say it and get this over with."

"That did not take so long."

She was going to do just as she said because there was no easy way around this, "okay, so I just wanted to come by and give you my condolences. I did not get a chance to say it at the funeral nor at school. I saw the fragile state you were in and I know what you're going through is extremely difficult so I did not want to make it anymore difficult for you. What your going through is so tough and you are so brave. I wish I could be that brave."

It was flattering to hear that someone found her brave but holding in your pain and tears was not brave nor an easy task, "I'm not as brave as I look. I keep myself composed very well in front of others and I keep those walls around me. I am not a brave person."

"How can you say that? I mean, you managed to walk through school after all you been through and had the strength to recite Evan's speech. If you ask me, I have never met a braver person."

The feelings that ran through Kelly's mind as she heard Alicia's confession were mind-blowing. This was never a side Alicia had showcased to the school and maybe not even her friends. Kelly was shocked by these actions. There was a point where these two ladies wanted to kill one another but there must have been something else behind face that she is hiding. It was the strangest thing.

"That's really nice of you to say Alicia. It means a lot to me," Kelly expressed her gratitude to the foxy lady. "Thank you for the condolences and kind words. After what you and I have been through, I am pretty surprised to hear this coming from you."

She offered a chuckle to the beautiful blonde, "we may have had our differences – well, a lot of differences but after we graduated earlier today, I felt like I was turning a new leaf. Something came over me and I know Evan was a great guy and what you went through is hard so I just wanted to give my support."

"Thanks Alicia."

"I'm not always the bitchy one I am painted to be. Layla's worse. Rosa's a close second for sure," joked the redhead, which caused a bit of laughing between the two ladies.

It is just so surprising to see how one person can change over time and this was one of them. Alicia and Kelly had transformed from bitter enemies to speaking to one another without any problems? This was insane but maybe she was right – did something after graduation spark a little fire in Alicia that she did not know about?

"Speaking of Layla, is she feeling better? I heard she was puking in the neighbors pool."

"Oh, yeah. I think she still was. That is why I came here. I was supposed to get her a glass of water or something," with the tip of her finger, she tapped her lips gently. "Oh well, she has a pool full of water to drink out of – what am I worrying about?"

Kelly offered a small chuckle to the redhead's joke, "let's go grab a drink inside the house. I know where Jack is holding some of the good stuff."

"Thank god! I was getting sick of the beer here. Hopefully we find something good."

It was a strange turn of events but Kelly found company – not in a friend – in a new friend. The bad times in one's life can really bring the good out into someone else's.

* * *

His slowly pulled his car into the parking spot available at Jack's house. There was nothing that could be done to fix the mood he was in. He turned the car off and sat in his car. Cody could hear the loud music from his car and a few of his classmates rooming the streets in front of Jack's place.

They were all so happy and they had every reason to be happy. They could proudly display their smiles without a single problem. However, Cody did not have a single reason to smile about. How could one smile with his heart ripped out of his body?

He failed. He felt like a failure. How could he have been so foolish? The girl of his dreams does not want to be with him at all. This is the worst feeling that anyone has ever felt.

He turned his eye to the seat beside him when his phone lite up. It was a text message – it was a text message from Eve! What could this mean? Did she get on the plane? Did she come back to him? His thumb rolled over to the messages icon and read the message.

_I'm sorry for everything. I hope you'll be able to forgive me someday. You don't even know how much I am going to miss you…_

It was a whole another puzzle for him. What did this mean? She says she'll miss him yet she is traveling thousands of miles away. Nothing made sense.

Now the question is, will he ever be able to forgive her?

It was an answer he did not have at the moment.

Cody pulled open the car door and walked onto the pavement. He looked toward Jack's house and could see Kelly coming outside from the party. She smiled at him but frowned immediately once she the expression written on his face. She ran over. Her hair jumped in the air with each step.

"Cody, is everything okay? Did you talk to Eve?"

No response – she was only greeted by the awkward silence that was in the air. Cody looked down as he took in a breath of air, "she got on the plane. I thought she would stay but.."

She could see Cody needed some comfort and brought the young raven-haired boy into her arms. His head crashed onto her shoulder, as the comfort of a friend was what he needed right now. A friend is just what he needed at the moment.

Kelly rubbed his back gently and Cody's mind ran wild. What was he supposed to do now? What was the next step in his turbulent life?

To begin mending his broken heart.

* * *

**A/N: **Here we go, people. You knew this was coming. There is only one more chapter left. This is unbelievable. I cannot believe how far this story and series has gone and I cannot believe it is coming to an end. I promise that the next chapter is going to serve this story right and get the proper ending. Thanks again for reading and reviewing! Until next time..

_Next Chapter - With their time in West Beverly behind them, our friends prepare to embark on their newest journey._


	55. Unwritten

**Life in the Hills 3**

_Chapter Fifty Five - Unwritten__  
_

Times flies by and in the case of their summer before college, flies by are quite the understatement. The summer for the graduates of West Bev went by like light speed. As quick as it started was as quick as it finished. Tomorrow was the first day of classes at CU and despite their excitement; Kelly and Maryse were definitely going to miss all the free time that comes along with summer.

Tomorrow was the beginning of a brand new journey as this chapter was set to close in their young lives and both Kelly and Maryse found it appropriate to enjoy some mimosas during brunch at the Beverly Hills beach club. Ted would shortly join the two of them and Nikki Bella was set to make her appending arrival to Beverly Hills.

Nikki Bella had been spending her summer on the beaches of the Hamptons with some of New York's most elite group of people. Her aunt was one of them and therefore, Nikki decided it was best to spend the summer with some family after her breakup with Dolph.

Kelly and Maryse chunked their glasses together and each took a sip. The sweet drink fuzzed down their throats and the French Canadian uttered an "ahh" through her lips.

"God, I am going to miss summer. Can you believe that this time tomorrow, we'll be back in a classroom?" This blonde was the least excited about college.

"You're not the least bit excited?" said the other blonde, who was a bit surprised by her response since Maryse could not stop talking about college this entire summer.

"I mean, I'm excited for the awesome parties, joining Kappa Delta or Alpha Gamma Delta and the football games."

"Basically, anything unrelated to education?"

"Pretty much," and as she answered that question, she imposed another. "Are you still going to join with me?"

That was something Kelly had not yet discussed with her good friend and now the spotlight was shining right over her, "Well, you see. I kind of don't want to join one."

"I can't believe you are going to ditch me like that – after all we have been through. You and I honey have been through hell together. We've been through the thick and thin and you will be joining one with me," Maryse did not do well with plans not functioning the way she had hoped. "I can definitely see us as Kappa Deltas – Nikki would definitely fit right in."

"I would fit right in, where?"

The two blondes twisted their heads and were greeted by the lovely Bella twin herself – Nikki Bella has returned to Beverly Hills. Instantly, the two of them jumped from their seats and embraced the brunette with open arms.

"We are so happy to have you back. Maryse is slowly driving me crazy but now you are here to help control it."

"Hey, you will be living with me come tomorrow so if you think things are crazy now, wait till you and I have bedrooms next to one another."

As much as she did not want to deliver the bad news as she just got back from her trip, Nikki had to tell the girls the news she had. It was very important and the more she held it in, the more nervous she was growing. "Alright, I actually will not be here for long. I am heading back to New York tomorrow morning."

Both girls were shocked yet confused by the brunette's announcement and Maryse asked for some clarity, "you're going back to New York? But you just got here?!"

"I'll keep the story short," she whipped her hair back and pulled off her sunglasses before telling the ladies her news. "My Aunt is a professor at NYU and they have such an awesome dance program. I was on the waiting lists for months but with some help from my Aunt and a few pulled strings, I got into the program. Can you believe it?!"

The blonde duo was stunned by their friend's revelation. Nikki could read their minds by the mere look on their faces however she was not aware on how they felt in regards to it.

Kelly pulled her jaw up from the ground and answer Nikki, "I mean, I do not want you to get the wrong idea because I am so happy for you but I am just sad that we won't be going to CU together."

"Like Kelly said and on top of that, you are only back for one day," added Miss Ouellet.

Despite the several cons in this state, the situation was not all that bad. "Well, think about it this way. I'll be home in 2 months for thanksgiving then a few weeks after that, I'll be right back here again." There was some positive light to shed on this gloomy consequence. "And Maryse, your sister lives in New York and you always go and visit her. Now you ladies have another reason to come and visit."

"As much as I hate this," Maryse took her glass into her hand and primed for a toast. "I speak for both Kelly and myself that we will greatly miss you and that no matter what, we will always be there for you. To Nikki," Kelly raised her glass alongside her friend. "All the best to you in New York."

The two friends clinked their glasses together and the brunette looked on with such joy. She was satisfied to get the pressure off her chest and to have the knowledge that two of her closet friends had her back; she knew she would be fine.

Eventually, their brunch continued and the waiter had brought Nikki's drink as well and the three ladies were enjoying the lunch afternoon.

"Isn't Eve supposed to be coming back soon? Classes begin tomorrow." The table had gone quiet when Nikki mentioned Eve. The twin could immediately sense that something did not feel right. She gazed over at Maryse and Kelly who both look a bit upset. "Girls, is there something going on?"

"Well, there is no easy way to put this," Maryse bit on her lip and could taste the lip-gloss on her tongue. "I spoke to Eve last week and she told me some news. Basically, she fell in love with the school in Spain and made the decision to stay their full time."

"What?!" was the reaction Nikki gave to the girls.

"There was still a spot open for the upcoming freshmen semester so she grabbed it as soon as she could. You could imagine how bummed out we are. Tiffany's already gone, Eve is staying in Spain and now your heading to New York," Kelly filled in the details behind Eve's decision.

"The worst part of this all is Cody has no idea that Eve is not coming back," Maryse revealed another disturbing detail. "You should have seen him this summer. He's like a little lost puppy dog but he's counting the days till Eve gets home. He thinks she's coming home tomorrow."

"We're going to have to tell him," and that is where this situation got very difficult. Neither Maryse nor Kelly had the courage to tell Cody the truth. The both of them could only imagine what the devastating blow could do to the young man and his wounded heart.

"We'll tell him tonight at the bonfire," Maryse slipped on her tasty drink in the midst of the conversation. "I rather him find out from us than just waiting to see if she comes back tomorrow."

Each of them were dreading the moments that were coming their way however they have to tell him the truth and it is best for him to hear this from his friends than having his heart broken when he does not see her tomorrow.

* * *

The girls had a different idea with how they plan on spending their final day of summer compared to what the guys were planning on doing. The ladies enjoyed their brunch but the guys were heading out to the water where the swells were picking up. The ocean was ripe for surfing that afternoon.

Ted, Cody and Dolph were walking alongside one another. The wind whipped Dolph's hair into the air and Ted could not help but make a comment. "Dude, your hair is just whipping around in this wind."

Dolph combed it over with his hand and smirk, "at least I have really good hair. Something you boys wished you could have on top of my charming good looks."

"Yeah right," Cody shrugged his shoulders. "Is this bar of yours ready yet? I would like to have a place where I could hang out and just get completely drunk all day."

"You did it all summer," answered Dolph. "But when is the big grand opening, my friend? Heck, we don't even know where the bar is yet. Everything is where too top secret. I am starting to think your pulling a huge prank on us."

"You want to know where it is?" He stopped. Ted turned his body around and points to the giant pier. Their eyes are guide through Ted's finger and that is when the guys finally discovered where Ted was opening his bar. "That my friends, is where I will be opening up my bar in a couple of months."

Both of them were quiet impressed and did not expect Ted to have gone this far. "That's pretty damn cool, my friend," Cody offered a pat on his shoulder.

"Did not expect that but I like. Imagine the load of girls you will get a night," Dolph knew how to make a subject more interesting.

As the guys were getting closer to the water, Cody realized he had forgotten his board wax in the car. "Shoot – I forgot the wax in my car. I'll get right back – meet me down there."

Ted and Dolph continued down to the beach while Cody jogged back to the parking lot to his car. He popped the trunk and grabbed his wax, just as another car pooled into the parking spot beside him.

The man exits his vehicle and when he turns around, Cody is surprised to see Alex Riley standing right before him. He was taken back for a moment before he walked over to Alex, "Alex?"

When Alex faced Cody, he greeted him with a warm smile, "Dude, how's it going? Long time no see, buddy. How is everything?"

"Not bad," answer Cody. "You got back from Barcelona – how was everything there?"

"Barcelona was awesome, dude. It's a really great place. I went to Madrid and Ibiza too – it was just a crazy summer. I had a real good time. The parties there were out of control!"

"I guess that means Eve is back too, right?"

This is the part of the conversation that was certain to get weird. Alex bit down on his lip as he looked over to Cody. "Eve and I kind of broke up when we were in Spain. A couple weeks ago we just decided to spend the rest of the trip apart but we're still good friends and we still talk."

"Oh man, that sucks man. I'm sorry to hear that."

Lie. A big fat lie. Cody was thrilled to hear the news. He still felt bad for Alex but in the end of the day, Eve dumped him. Maybe she finally realized something? Maybe she finally opened her eyes and recognized that she wanted to be with him? Cody knew this was going to happen. Eve could not harbor her feelings for that long.

"Ah, it's okay. Eve and I grew apart a lot during the trip. We just wanted different things. I kind of regret asking her to come on the trip with me. If she had not came, me and her could have still been together but it happened and there's nothing I can do about it."

The cards were finally falling into the right hands.

"And things would have not worked out anyway especially since she had decided to stay in Barcelona."

His hopes came to a peak and they would soon be crashing down with Alex's next revelation. Eve was staying? "Hold on, what do you mean Eve is staying in Barcelona? Our first day at CU is tomorrow – she has to be back today."

Alex was taken back. I guess word has not gone around yet. "I guess she did not tell you anything, hasn't she?" Alex sighed. "There was still room on the fall semester to come onboard as a full time student and Eve had really loved Barcelona and the school so she applied to go and got accepted. She has decided to stay in Barcelona."

This worst has really happened. Just when he thought something was going his way, things change drastically. Eve is staying in Barcelona and he may never see her again. How could something like this happen?

"So she's staying in Barcelona? She's not coming home?"

"That's what it looks like my friend," Alex put his hand on Cody's shoulder. "I got to run, dude but it was good seeing you. I'll see you around campus, sometime."

Alex disappeared to leave Cody alone. Cody took his board and stuffed it into his SUV. He shut the trunk and got into the driver's seat and sat right there, reflecting over everything.

Watching her leave was painful enough but hearing that she was not coming back was ever more painful. He felt as if someone took his heart and was twisting it. How could this have happened, again?

Maybe this was a sign? Life was trying to explain something to him – that maybe it is time that he finally moves on with his life and forget Eve. Fate was not allowing Eve and himself to come together and he had to let this go. Eve and Cody were not destined to be together and maybe there was a reason behind that. As he looked out into the beach, he could not garner the energy to surf or be with his friends. He turned the car's ignition on and pulled out of the parking lot.

He just needed to be alone and by the looks of it, fate wanted him to be alone.

* * *

Normally, you never see stars in the sky in LA. You see them in the streets of Beverly Hills walking down the street shopping down Rodeo so for the gang, it was weird when they went to the beach and saw the sky was lite up.

As the ladies pulled out of the car, Nikki grabbed a few things and headed down for the beach while the two blondes sat their waiting for Cody to show up with the refreshments for the evening.

"I've texted him four times already and he was not answered any of them," a frustrated Kelly was not too happy with Cody's tardiness. Neither was Maryse who could see the bonfire being set up on the beach.

"I think that's him coming right now," Maryse noticed Cody's car entering the parking lot and it was swerving from side to side. "He's a really horrible driver. Even when we dated, he was bad. He's only worsened over the years.

Cody pulled his car up right next to Maryse's and as he turned off the engine, he opened the car door and an odd smell came out of it. Kelly came forward but too a step back when she took a swift of Cody, "Oh my god! You reek! You car reeks! It smells like.."

"Beer!" An obvious drunk Cody slammed the door to his car and as Kelly peaked inside, she could see the empty beer cans scattered around his car.

"You drove here drunk?! Are you out of your damn mind, Cody?!"

Kelly was none to please and the same reaction would follow from Maryse, "Your crazy! You've could have seriously hurt yourself out there or even worse – killed yourself let alone other people. Why were you drinking Cody?!"

Well, he was frustrated with everything. Life was not going his way. He growled, "my life sucks – that's why."

"How does that make up for drinking a ton of beers and driving? Is your life worth that?" This behavior was beyond odd of Cody, however she was not going to let him go that easy.

"If there is a problem Cody, you should have told us."

Cody scowled at Maryse's comment but rolled his eyes as he poured his heart out, "I've waited for her all summer. I've waited for her since she left and now she's not coming back. She's never going to come back."

Both blondes filled in the blanks. Maryse came over and offered a shoulder, "you found out about Eve?"

"Yep. Ran into Alex earlier today at the beach club. He told me that she broke up with him and that she was planning on staying in Spain for good."

"I'm so sorry Cody," was all Maryse could say at this point. There was nothing she could to heal his broken heart than to provide sympathy.

However, Kelly viewed this all at a much different approach. She understood how Cody was feeling but with this dragging on for a while, Kelly knew she had to give Cody a little tough love to bring himself back up. Complaining over Eve's departure and waiting for her return was a pointless venture at this point. The time has come to move on with his life.

"Cody, I am going to give you something you needed a while ago. I hate seeing you like this. I understand that you love Eve but is she really worth it? You are chasing a lost cause. She does not want to be with you and it is about time that you move on with your life because life goes on. I wish nothing more than to see you happy and every moment I see you like this, breaks my heart. Life does not end here. It's time you make a decision – mope over losing Eve or finally take control of your life. It's your choice Cody."

That was certainly something Cody did not expect from his former girlfriend. For months now, Kelly was always supportive of the two of them and it reached a point where she has realized he needs to move on – so why hasn't he made the realization himself?

There is nothing stopping him from moving on. Eve is half way across the globe and has made it clear several times that a relationship between the two was out of the question. The decision was so clear for her but why couldn't it be simple for him?

He admitted, "I think your right. I think I needed that Kelly."

She managed to coil a smile together as she embraced the young man, "as your friend, I think you deserve the truth. I do not want to sit hear telling you that she's coming back and she is going to be with you when I do not have the slightest clue. I'm just trying to be honest."

He did not want to make her feel bad at all, "you did the right thing, Kel. As much as this sucks, I have to move on with my life."

Maryse chirped in, "you going to be okay Cody?"

"He will be," Kelly gently slapped his shoulder. "It's our final night before we go to college. Let's not make this a sad night when we have no reason to be sad. I hope you didn't drink all the beer."

The man chuckled, "nope. The rest is in the trunk."

Cody opened the trunk as the girls each grabbed a case. "We'll meet you down on the beach," said Maryse and she and Kelly went before Cody.

Cody picked up the last case and held it under is arm. He shut the trunk to his SUV and dragged his feet off the parking lot and onto the sand.

Tomorrow would mark a brand new beginning for him. He would leave the old Cody behind and introduce a new and improved Cody tomorrow. Kelly only provided him with the truth and he cannot blame her for that. Let the past be the past and let the future be the future. After all, life does go on.

* * *

As the night went on, Cody could feel the effects of the beer coming along. Kelly was trying to cut him off but it was only creating problems. Ted and Maryse found this humorous and began laughing at their friend. Nikki looked over to Dolph, seeing how quiet he was and thought this would be a good moment to pull him to the side to talk a few things out. Nikki grabbed her red sweater and pulled it over her slim figure.

She leaned over to Dolph who was sitting by her side and asked, "Would you want to take a quick walk by the water?"

He smiled, "Cody's killed almost all of the beer and a walk does sound pretty good. I'm down."

The two of them quietly dismissed themselves from the group. They headed further down the beach to the water and took a walk along the water. There was no light at all. The only light they had was from the bright moon that shined over the dark night sky. The wind was whipping away, sending her hair into the air gently.

Well, this was not awkward at all. Two exes walking together and neither of the two were saying a word to one another. This was the first time they had seen each other in about two months so this did not come as a surprise. Nikki thought this would be a little more different.

"How was New York for the summer?" The icy blonde went forth and broke the ice between the two, "You were in the Hamptons, right?"

"Yeah, I was in Manhattan for a little but spent most of the summer in the Hamptons at my Aunt's beach house," answer Nikki. "The Hamptons was really nice. It kinda of reminded me of Beverly Hills a little. Did you go anywhere for the summer?"

"I mainly stayed here. Me, Cody and Jack did take a trip out to Palm Springs to Jack's Dad's house for a few days."

"A little guys weekend?" teased the brunette twin, which she got a laugh in exchange for her joke.

"Yeah –"

Nikki just had to get through with it already. Sure, she came home to bring some things to New York but there was more reasoning behind her return. It was time Nikki and Dolph get some closure to their rollercoaster relationship. She left LA because of him and returned to LA because of him. There was no easy way of getting pass through this difficult trench in life.

"I was doing a lot of thinking when I was back in New York," the admission came from Nikki. "I still can't get the image out of my mind – seeing you and Brie together. That is something that is pretty hard to digest."

Dolph nodded, "with you gone, I had the chance to look at the mistake I made and how everything unfolded. I never expected any of this to happen."

"Neither could I. I mean, I thought we really had some special, you know?"

"We do have something special, Nikki. There is no doubt about that."

He was right but what they had was no longer there. Those sparks there was present at the beginning were no longer occupying their relationship, "I forgive you for all of that, for all of the mistakes made. I am going to put that behind us and we are going to move past it. The more we hold onto it, the more our relationship suffers."

"So, you want to move on?"

"Yeah, I'd like to move on," Nikki then launched the bombshell onto Dolph that he did not expect to hear, especially with the direction this conversation was going into. "Not together, though. We can move on but separately."

Of course, he was stunned and it really took the air out of him to hear. Before she left him, she left a piece of hope along with her. The piece of hope that their relationship could be repaired after this big blow but that was not the case. Dolph wanted to tune out but he decided he had to hear Nikki out.

"I just think that we may be better off with out one another. If you think this is any harder for you than it is for me, you are undeniably wrong. I thought about this for two whole months. I kept thinking if we could just leave off where we ended but that is way to difficult. I personally do not want to be involved in an relationship now," explained the brunette. "I'm not giving up on love but I think I need a chance to be alone and garner more strength before I begin another relationship."

This was not how the conversation was supposed to pan out for Dolph. He pictured all of this going a lot more differently than this. A part of him really thought Nikki and himself were going to get back together.

However, despite his hopes being dashed, he also understood where she was coming from. She had been hurt and he was responsible for it. He could also see why he needed some time away.

"This is not easy, hearing you say all of this but I know it is for the best. Letting you go is not easy. I have tired to let you go for two months already and it has been a complete failure. I go everywhere to try and get you out of my mind but no luck. I thought a lot about us over the summer. While a part of me does not want any of this to end, a part of me feels like it is the right thing to do at this point."

Nikki could see he was hurt. She tried her hardest to hold back tears. She never saw Dolph in a state like this, "I am glad we have mutual feelings. You brought so many good things out of me, you know that? I never had a boyfriend who brought the good out of me, the real Nikki. Sometimes I feel like a closed book around people but there was something you did that brought out the real me."

He stopped walking on the beach and looked at Nikki. Oh, those eyes made his heart thump a little faster. Oh, he was going to miss that feeling in his chest. "I've dated so many girls but none of them comes close to you. My other relationships were jokes; this is the first one mature relationship I had."

"You mean that?" It was a sweet thing to reveal and Nikki never imagine Dolph admitting any of this.

"There was always something about us that was different to everyone else."

Nikki unloaded a deep breath as she gazed into his dazzlingly eyes that made her knees weak. She was going to miss this but knew she was doing the right thing.

"I hate that we have to end it like this. I wish I did not have to do this but I think it is for the best Dolph. I think it is the best that you and I move on –"

"– And I agree. I think we are doing the right thing at this moment. I think you and I finally have some closure to this all. These loose ends have been tied up and we can move on with our lives."

She could not describe how well it felt to hear those words comes through his lips. This rollercoaster relationship had finally reached its destination and it was time for the two of them to get off the ride and head onto a new ride. Even Dolph said it himself – the two could finally put some closure on to this relationship and move forward. There was no going back and the only direction they could go into was forward.

"But, there is one last thing I have to ask you?" asked Mr. Ziggler.

"What's that?"

"We can still be friends, right?"

It was so sweet to hear him say that. Despite their relationship coming to an end, it did not mean that everything was over. Nikki pursed her lips together into a smile before giving him a tender kiss on his tan cheek, "Dolph, no matter what happens, you and I will always be friends."

He pulled away from her for a moment and the two smiled at one another. He pulled Nikki back into an embrace. She rested her head against her chest and shut her eyes. This embrace felt magical.

Though their summers had begun in such dreadful ways, the two had concluded their summers on a happier note.

With their relationship a memory in their hearts, this only presented more opportunities to create more memories along the way.

* * *

Maryse had always lived a lavish lifestyle and that would continue into her college years. Her mother constantly disrupted her lavish lifestyle at home so that is when she made the decision to get her own apartment. Another moment living with her mother would drive her insane and into a mental ward.

And there she was, standing in the middle of her brand new apartment. The movers were slowly moving in her furniture and bringing up boxes. This was all too exciting for the young blonde. With her living on her own, she finally felt like an independent adult and there was nothing else that could stop her. Well, there may be one thing. She has yet to get her trust fund, which was put aside until she reached college but that should not be much of a problem. That should be kicking in in just a few months.

Maryse noticed a mover being careless with one of the boxes and stomped her way over, "be careful, please! That box has some very expensive dishes that I had purchased from Italy. Have a little decency!"

He simply rolled his eyes at her before lifting the box up again – this time with care. Relieved, Maryse traveled into her bedroom and noticed the boxes of clothing she had to unpack. It wasn't one box. It wasn't two boxes. It was a load of boxes scattered all around her room. The prom queen had a fortress of boxes surrounding her bed that she couldn't even get to it.

There was a knock on her door and when she turned around, she found Ted leaning against the doorway, gazing at her room. His one thought: pandemonium, "Have I stepped into your apartment or Rodeo Drive?"

"I practically own Rodeo Drive. Half of it is my boxes. Don't judge me for my vast variety of clothing."

"It will be days before you even see the carpet to this room," the former high school student said, as he approached his girlfriend. "I've got some news for you that you may like."

Her eyebrow shot up in curiosity, "is it good news or is it bad news?"

"I think you'll like the news so let's put this under the category of good news," but with all honesty, he could see that Maryse would love the news he was about to give him. "I was down at Santa Monica Community College and they still had some room for a few classes this semester so I'll be taking a few classes."

"What?!" Maryse was beyond thrilled with Ted's decision that she jumped off the ground. "But you said you didn't want to go to school? And are you doing this just for me or yourself?"

"I'm doing it for the both of us. I just want to take a few classes so I know what I am getting myself into and you know what I may end up liking it. All I got to do is try it out and who knows what could happen."

Maryse clapped her hands together, "Oh, I'm so happy. We should celebrate!"

"I have an idea on how we can do that!"

Ted gave off this lusty look and Maryse immediately knew what her boyfriend wanted. However, she looked at the boxes piled on her bed and without hesitating, she knocked them all off and jumped onto the bed with a seductive smile planted on her cheeks.

"I'm ready when you are."

* * *

It was just her luck. Where should she begin with her problems?

Well, for starters the airline lost one of her suitcases then her taxi driver took her to Brooklyn instead of Manhattan and now she just finished climbing 8 stories worth of stairs to get to her dorm carrying 5 bags. There were the perks of being an NYU freshman.

Tiffany finally reached her designated dorm – room 807. She slipped the keys into her the lock and when she turned it, she was could nearly drop dead. Not drop dead because of the fabulous view she has but when she saw her couch, her body immediately collapsed.

As she shut her eyes, she could not believe that she was actually in New York City for the very first time. The entire plan was for her to go to Harvard but her dream school was New York University. When she got the call that she was accepted, she did not hesitate to say yes at all. Living in New York was always a dream of hers and it was coming true.

People complained the city was dirty and loud but nothing negative they said could ruin anything. She was way too in love with the Big Apple. She was certainly eager to explore the city but had to get a few things out of her way – like unpacking for instance.

As she pulled herself up from the comfortable couch, she gazed upon her room. To her right, she could see a beautiful kitchen. To her left, she could see the large bedroom she would share with her roommate. Right in the middle, where she was standing was the living room and right across from the couch were two windows. As she approached the windows, she was greeted by the beautiful view of the midtown skyline including the Empire State building.

She wanted to scream out the joy but she had to keep a low voice. As she stared outside, she could hear her phone going off in one of her bags. She raced to her purse and pulled out her cell phone. Who was calling, you ask? None other than Jack "The Swagg" Swagger.

"Jack!" she greeted him on the phone with such joy in her voice, "I wish you were hear to see the amazing view I have from my building. I see half of New York from my dorm room."

Jack could only laugh through the phone, hearing the joy reek through Tiffany's voice, "NYU seems to be treating you quiet well, isn't it?"

"I just wish you were here to see all of this. I mean, you would love it here but I'm sure you love it there too. By the way, where are you now? When we talked on Friday, you were in Istanbul."

He proceeded to laugh as he got up from his bed and walked over to the curtains of his room. As he pulled them apart, a ray of sunshine greeted him, "well, when you look out your window, you see the Empire State building. When I look through mine, I can see the Acropolis."

If he did not make it obvious, Jack Swagger was in Greece. This trip was only a small part of his already big trip. After high school graduation, he strived to do something monumental. He had this passion for traveling. For him, there was so much more to the world than just his backyard and he made it his goal to see the various cultures that consume the world.

"Wait, your in Greece?!"

"Yeah, I just got in a couple of hours ago. I am going to be here for a couple of weeks before I head out to Egypt. I wish you were here, though," a trip alone is nice but a trip with someone else would be even nicer. He missed Tiffany, even though he has only been gone for a 2 weeks.

"I wish you were here too. But you are stopping in New York when you head back, right?"

"Of course I am," Jack responded as he went back down onto his bed to lay down. "How is everyone back home?"

Tiffany nodded her head as she thought of her friends back home in California. She had left them last night and it was certainly an emotional goodbye. Even though she only knew them for a few months, they made her time in California the best and she knows that regardless of where she goes, they'll be right behind her. All of them were so supportive of her decision to go to New York. That's how you know you have good friends – they support you no matter what.

"My parents had a barbeque over at my house on the night before I left and everyone came over. It was just the sweetest. I miss them all so much."

Jack smiled at Tiffany's response, which assimilated another question, "Did you meet your roommate yet?"

"No, she's not in yet. I don't know a single thing about her. Before the summer, they asked what are preferences were for roommates and I hope they find a good match. My roommate may turn into my best friend here."

Just at that very moment, she could hear a knock on the door. "Jack, I think that is her. I've got to go but I'll call you tomorrow, okay? I love you," Tiffany quickly shut her phone and headed straight for the door and when she opened the door, she was in for a little surprise of her own, "Nikki?!"

The blonde was stunned. She could not tell you herself but with one look at her facial expression, it told the whole story. Right in front of her was Nikki Bella, standing there right in front of her. Tiffany could not believe that this was her roommate.

"Nikki, what are you –"

"Surprise roommate," the brunette accepted the blonde with open arms when they embraced one another.

As she pulled her away, she demanded an explanation over this all, "I thought you were supposed to go to CU with everyone else. What are you doing here?"

"Well, since I spent my summer here, I looked into going to school here. NYU still had room in their dance program so I thought this was the perfect chance. I need a fresh start so here I am, in New York," explained the twin.

With her relationship with Dolph ending and the two of them finally found some closure, she needed the opportunity to start fresh and her answer was in New York. Despite leaving a lot at home, she was eager to begin a brand new life here in the city and she was not going to be alone.

"I am beyond thrilled to see you here. I thought I was going to be living here all alone and I am so happy that you are going to be here."

And there they were – two friends ready to start a journey of a lifetime in a city of endless dreams.

* * *

How can you pack up your life into cardboard boxes? As Kelly roamed around her room, she grabbed some things she wanted to take to her brand new apartment. She ran in circles grabbing some photo frames, her clothes and her shoes and stuffed them tightly into boxes.

Kelly has not plans on making her room completely empty. She was going to leave some important things. After all, this is her room and it will remain like this forever. Her dad and step-mom had agreed to let her stay with Maryse in a brand new apartment they would share together. Kelly had to put in twenty five percent of the rent a month in order to keep it and it was a deal she was going to keep.

A part of her felt as if she was growing up way too quickly. Here she was – an eighteen-year-old girl about to go live on her own. However, there was excitement brewing in the young lady. Today marked the beginning of a brand new chapter of her life. A new journey awaited her and these were the first steps on that journey.

With the boxes piling up, Kelly was lucky enough to find some muscle. Dolph Ziggler was free for the day and opted to assist Kelly with her move. The blonde pulled into the room after making quiet a few trips to her car. He keeled over the stand of boxes, "Kel, I thought you were not taking much with you."

The beach blonde smirked at her friend, "I'm not. There are only those three boxes and I am done. Once we get to my new place, Ted will be there to help you."

"What's in these boxes?" Dolph pulled a very heavy one into his arms, "I'm starting to think your stuffing bricks in here."

As Dolph left her room, two other individuals pooled into the blonde's room – one had golden hair like hers while the other was a dark brunette. Just like Kelly, they were in the process of moving into their new home.

"Oh, I remember my college move in day like it was yesterday," Trish Jericho reminisced on her college days. "I had a 4 story walk up my freshman year – never again."

"Hey kiddo – looks like my little cousin is on her way to the big leagues. She's not a high school kid anymore. She's in the big leagues – college," said her older cousin, who crossed his arms and leaned against the door paneling.

Kelly enjoyed having her cousins back in town and surely loved their company, "I cannot believe I am leaving here. What was I thinking? I have it so good here and now I have to go and live on my own – what's up with that?"

Trish exactly knew how she felt but leaving was also a good thing, "leaving the luxuries of your home stinks but once you get out their, it's a whole lot of fun, trust me. Chris and I had a blast while we were in San Fran."

"Torrie told me stories about you two and your adventures in San Fran."

It was right then when they mentioned that name; they were reminded on why they came over in the first place. Trish and Chris took a look at one another and smiled before Chris prepared his revelation, "that's what we came up here to tell you. Last night, Torrie went into labor. John gave us a call about an hour ago and told us that Torrie had a baby boy."

Kelly freaked. Her jaw dropped and she began to freak out, "oh my god! A boy?! I can't believe it!"

"They named him Sean. Little Sean Cena."

"I've got to call them."

"John asked if you could call later tonight. Torrie had a long night and all," Chris asked Kelly in hopes she would understand.

"Oh! Of course, I will. I cannot believe I am an Aunt again," said the blonde. "Wow, so many things are happening. I'm moving into my apartment, I am starting my first day of college tomorrow – this day is getting better and better." Just at moment, her phone began ringing. She could not identify the number but made the decision to take the call anyway. "One second guys, I'll be right back."

As Kelly disappeared, Chris and Trish went around her room and Trish pulled out a picture from Kelly's graduation. It was all of them in a group shot. It just made Trish wonder about her life and where it was all going. Times passes by so quickly – where did these last fifteen years go?

"Isn't it insane how life changes? To think we were once in Kelly's shoes and now we are two adults. Two parents with our own children who will experience this all one day – sometimes I feel like I do not live in the moment or enjoy what I have."

Chris was dumbfounded by her comment, "Trish, you always live in the moment. You have your own yoga studio, you live in your dream house, and you have two amazing kids and a husband who love you more than anything. You live for more than just the moment. You enjoy every second of it. Life is precious but you get the most out of it everyday."

Even with the time passing by them, they would make sure to enjoy every little moment they get. They never know where life is going to take them.

"I just really want to enjoy every second. I want to enjoy every second here, with the kids and with you," Trish pulled closer to her husband. Her fingers slid over and around his back as she grasped his body gently.

"We are. We have got a lot a time with one another," he kissed the top of her head and took into the fruit scent of her chocolaty brown hair.

"Am I interrupting a moment?" The beaming blonde came back to her room to find the two of them in a passionate state. "Your room is still free to do whatever you please."

"Don't get any ideas Kel," said her older cousin. "Who was on the phone?"

"I was just going to get to that. That was principal McMahon on the phone. She was calling me because she told me she wants to see me today about something."

Trish pondered on what her former classmate turned principal needed, "wonder what she wants?"

Thoughts raced her mind as she wondered on what this could mean but she was not going to figure anything out until she gets there. Until that happens, she had to move and she just found two more volunteers.

"I don't know but what I do know is that I just found myself two new movers to bring boxes down to my car."

Moving was something that neither Trish nor Chris were too fond of at the moment. The brunette went forward to give some random excuse, "Chris, don't we have that thing we have to go to?"

He played along to his wife's game, "Oh yes, that very important thing. Kelly, as much as we would love to help but –"

"You guys have nothing planned. You don't think I haven't pulled this stunt before? If I were you, I'd grab a box and haul your ass downstairs."

* * *

Maryse and Ted were enjoying the beautiful campus that is CU. It was a reason Maryse fell in love with this school in the first place. It was like something pulled out of a movie or something. She was lucky enough to enjoy this day with someone so special.

"I made the right decision not to have classes on Mondays," she sighed. "Plus, there is that huge beach party later today which we are going to. I want to meet some of my fellow freshmen."

"You want to do so much today," Ted mentioned. "You want to explore campus, she still want to unpack your boxes and you want to join a sorority. One thing at a time."

Maryse could only offer a chuckle as she noticed that someone was approaching the couple. Her eyes froze for a moment. Ted took notice and turned his body around as he faced an old enemy all over again. Ted immediately stood onto his feet, "what are you doing here?"

There he was. Mike Mizanin standing right before the two of them. The last time the two of these were staring one another down, Mike ended up in a bloody mess and Ted nearly got arrested. Maryse was not going to have this again and she quickly took a hold of Ted's hand and squeezed it. There was not going to be a fight today.

Mike has gone M.I.A after the incident. He was a no show for prom and did not accept his diploma despite graduating. Rumors ran wild at school saying Mike had a drug addiction and went to rehab while others said he left school and moved to Ohio. She had to admit – she wanted to know what he was going to say. They had to give him at least that – an opportunity to speak.

"I know I'm the last person you want to see and you have every right to feel that way. I did some shameful things in the past. That's why I came up here. I saw the two of you here," Mike was never one to apologize so it was weird for him to do this. "I came to apologize for the horrible things I did. I should have never done such a thing. After the whole thing happened, I went to the hospital and they actually diagnosed me with bipolar disorder."

She felt compassionate toward him but Ted did not. She knew that bipolar disorder was a serious issue, "that does not make it okay to do some of the things you did, Mike."

After his huge fight with Ted, Mike was diagnosed with the disease and placed in a therapy center to help battle his problem. He spent the rest of the school year and the summer at a facility in Palm Springs and he is proud enough to say he is doing much better today than he was doing months ago.

"And your right Ted. It does not make up for any of that and it never will. In a really weird sense, I was happy that it happened. I would have never been diagnosed."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mike," she offered and apology. She did not want a repeat of history all over again.

"All I'm asking for is that you accept my apology. Part of my therapy to attempt to rebuild bridges with relationships I have destroyed and make some rights to the wrongs I've made," he looked at the two of them and saw how they looked at him and knew this was not going to go well. "I think it's better that I just leave you two alone. I hope you know my apology is genuine."

Maryse could not have this end like this and something had to be done so she garnered the courage and said, "apology accepted."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I forgive you Mike," Maryse pinched Ted's arm hoping he would do the same. "Ted?"

As much as he did not want to say it, maybe it was best to let it go and bury the hatchet, "Yeah, I accept your apology."

Mike's lips forged into a smile and he was relieved about everything, "I appreciate it, I really do. It was great seeing the two of you but I've got to run to my class. I'll see you two around campus."

With Maryse's former boyfriend gone, Ted turned to his girlfriend as he had some questions that needed some answers, "how could you forgive him that easily? It was because of him you and I almost died in that car accident and we just forgive him like that? I don't know what to say."

"Ted, can I speak please?"

"Go."

"Mike is sick. He has a serious disorder and it takes a lot of courage to come up to someone and apologize for your actions. Neither of us would have done that easily but he did," she commended her ex-boyfriend for the courage he had to come up to the both of them and apologize. "Another reason I accepted his apology is that I want to leave behind all of that high school silliness behind. We are starting this brand new chapter and I want to start it with a clean slate and no problems. Mike did something horrible but I am done holding him accountable. Let bygones be bygones because I just want to move on with my life."

She could understand why Maryse was feeling this way but Ted can never forget what he did, "It's just hard to forget what he did and we just forgive each other."

"I've done some horrible things in my life to some of my closet friends and I was lucky enough to get them to forgive me. I think Mike deserves the same chance."

Maryse was the queen of bad things and Ted knew that so he decided he would follow in her footsteps, "alright, I am going to let it go."

Maryse wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled, "and this is why I love you – your one of the most understanding human beings I know and I am never going to let you go."

"Neither are you, Frenchie."

It has been over a year since she had heard that nickname and it had to come back, "I though that nickname was gone – why did you have to say it? We were having a moment."

Ted coiled his lips into a smile, "you know you still love me." It was true. She briefly laughed before capturing his lips with her own. Their love was more solid than ever at this point and it was going to stay like that.

Even if he still keeps calling her Frenchie.

* * *

_Go Wildcats!_

A part of her thought she would never see that sign ever again but as Kelly drove back into the parking lot to her former high school, all of these emotions came along with it. She was lucky enough to find a spot right in front of school's doors – something she never had the chance to do.

So many students filled the surroundings. Her mind could not process that it was only a little while ago that it was her who was once sitting in those seats. Dolph came along for the ride and as the two exited her vehicle, they scanned the surrounding area.

"I feel like I'm about to just go back to school all over again," said the beach blonde as he shut the door to Kelly's car. "Is it wrong a part of me wants to come back here?"

"Don't worry. I feel the same exact way, Dolph."

"What does McMahon want you here for? Did she mention anything on the phone?"

"Nope," an honest answer from Kelly. "She just asked me to come by because she wanted to show me something. She didn't mention a single detail to it."

"Maybe she is going to tell you that you missed a class and you really didn't graduate?"

She responded with a stern look as the two walked back through the doors of West Beverly, "then she could have done this over the phone and waste the humiliation in person." Immediately, Kelly saw her former principal standing down the hallway. "There she is."

As she came down the hallway, Principal McMahon greeted her with a large grin over her face, "you made it, Kelly and it's good to see you as well, Dolph. I promise I will fast because I know the two of you are busy with your own things. Your first day is today, after all."

"You miss me yet, Mrs. McMahon?" Dolph winked, "fear no more, I'm back."

"Thank you Mr. Ziggler. That's exactly what I needed."

"I just dropped my boxes off at my new apartment and my first class does not begin until the morning so I've got plenty of time," Kelly smiled. "I'm so curious on why you called me over here. I am so anxious!"

Principal McMahon knew she would be able to put a smile on Kelly's face with her little revelation. It was something McMahon planned for a while and she could not be happier with the outcome.

"Alright, come with me," the principal guided the two around the hallway corner and she stopped right before the media room, home of the West Beverly newspaper and news show. Kelly and Dolph peaked in to see a young brunette sitting in a sit as she reported the days events.

"Ah, the media room," she could remember all the sweet memories.

"I wonder if they still got the pool table," as Kelly reminisced, Dolph thought about the pool table. No surprise there.

Kelly looked over and noticed a black curtain covering the wall and it was right when she looked at her former principal was when she started speaking, "the reason I brought you here is because I have a little surprise for you. Over the summer, I had a talk with the school and the PTA and I had a little project I wanted to do. This was something very special to me and I thought it was very appropriate. I'm supposed to wait another week until the event where we unveil it but I want you to be the first to see it."

She was stumped and asked her former principal, "what is it?"

Principal McMahon came forward and pulled the curtain drapes back, unveiling the plaque that was there. She stepped back and Kelly could read the plaque that was hanging off the wall.

_The Evan Bourne Media Room – "Bourne to Fly"_

A rush of tears was moments away from spilling through Kelly's eyes. Dolph wrapped his arm around Kelly's. She brought her hand up and wiped away a few tears from her eyes, "this is beautiful."

"Both the school and the PTA thought this would be a great idea. We all know how passionate Evan was for journalism and when he became the editor of the newspaper and the producer of the news show, he revolutionized the program and it has become one of our most popular clubs. We thought it was only appropriate to name the room after him because if it was not for all of his contributions, we would not have all the success it has had."

A slur of emotions rushed through her body. Dolph smiled and could only imagine how happy Evan would be hearing about this honor. The tears rolled down her cheeks. Evan has not only had a lasting effect on her life but on this school as well. Evan Bourne will forever be a part of West Beverly.

Kelly turned to principal McMahon and said, "thank you so much. This is so amazing and I know Evan would be so happy. He loved journalism and this school and now a part of him will always be here. This is too kind of you, Principal McMahon."

"It's something that just had to be done," she remarked. "I have to go now. I have some meetings but feel free to stay. We'd also loved to have you at the ceremony next week. Please be there, if you can."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

As she left her former students, Kelly approached the plaque and traced her fingers over his name. Even though he has been gone for three months now, there is not a day that passes by where she does not think of him.

It made her incredibly happy to see that other people will enjoy the legacy Evan has left them. His mark will be forever known at this school and what better way. He is always going to be here – she knows it.

Just as his name is etched into a plaque, his name will be etched in Kelly's heart forever.

* * *

He laid out his boxes one by one in Room 307. The room was not huge. The room was split in two – one side for him and the other side for his roommate. He still had no idea who it was.

Simmons Hall is the residence Cody Rhodes will be calling home for his freshmen year at CU. His brand new dormitory was filling up with freshmen and their nervous parents as they let their children embark on this journey they call college.

He was certainly a little shaky that afternoon as he pulled things out of his boxes and started to pack them away in his new hall. Just like his friends and fellow freshmen, he was a bit nervous about beginning college. It stumbled his mind on how time has flown by and he is no longer a student at West Bev. After going there for four years, he had grown accustomed to going to his locker and pulling his books out – now he had a place to live on campus and their would be no more lockers.

There were just sometimes where he wished things had stayed the way there are but life can't be the easy, can it?

Cody emptied each box one by one and as he began to unpack his final box, the contents of it were going to surprise him. A photo lay on the top of the box. A photo of Eve was lying right there, staring him right in the eyes. Her gleaming eyes focused onto him as well as her golden smile.

There was so much anger and frustration built into him. It took him a lot of courage to prevent him from tearing the photo into shreds but he could not find it in him to destroy it. As upset as he was, nothing in the world could make him do such a thing – it was not worth it.

With all of this resentment clouding his mind, the best way to handle this situation was to do keep himself preoccupied and whatever better way than unpacking more boxes before realizing he realized he packed up too many things? He hid the photo into a nearby book and placed it onto the nearby table.

Cody Rhodes was not always a believer in the whole 'things happen for a reason' saying but the more and more he thought about it, the more it began to make more sense. This whole Eve saga happened and in the end, he was the only one left hurt and allowed himself to deal with this misfortune. With a new chapter beginning, this was his opportunity to change everything and to begin fresh. The past will remain unchanged however the future is in the grasp of his hand and he can begin to live his life freely.

After all, it's college – it's time to back these next few years the best time of his life.

Moments later, the college freshmen received a knock on his door. As he twisted his body, he came face to face with a lightly bearded man who was carrying a few bags. He could only make the assumption that he has come face to face with his brand new roommate.

"I'm taking a shot in the dark and saying you're my roommate?" A comedic tone came with his voice and instantly, the other man's face lite up.

"I guess it is," the young man dropped his bags onto the floor as his eyes traced the room. "I'm Daniel Bryan – your new roommate."

Like any guy, Daniel had extended his hand waiting for the shake. Cody smiled as he brought forth his hand and accepted the gesture, "I'm Cody – nice to meet you dude."

The both of them seemed very excited and thrilled. Daniel could not stop grinning, "I have never been to California before and I just got off the plan a few hours ago and let me tell you dude, this city is awesome."

"So you're not from around here?"

"Nope! I'm from Washington – a little place called Aberdeen that you probably never heard of."

Laughter peaked through his voice before he provided Daniel with a greeting, "Well, welcome to California. I hope it is everything you wished for."

"I cannot complain," replied the breaded man. "I haven't even been on campus ten minutes and I already got invited to some party at the beach. You should definitely come."

A party to begin the new year – when has he ever declined a party invitation? He was not going to start now.

"Sounds good man. You need some help with your bags?"

"I'm good," the Washington Native grabbed his bag but due to the weigh, he swung over and knocked Cody's table over. "Dude, my bad – let me get that."

"You don't have to –"

Daniel noticed the book he knocked over and the photo that was in it. As Cody went to grab the both the book and photo, Daniel had beaten him to the bunch and gazed at the brunette in the photo, "Wow, dude. She's hot. Girlfriend?"

Cody took back the photo and book as Daniel had handed it back to him and Cody only answered with a simple remark, "too complicated to explain."

Daniel chuckled, "anyway, I have to head back down. I left a suitcase down there and the residential advisor needs to see me. I'll be back in a bit and then we'll head to the party?"

"Sounds good, my friend."

Daniel whimpered away while Cody began to put a few things out of his desk. The view from the desk showed off a view of the campus' great lawn. Students were lying out and enjoying the sunny day they were lucky enough to have.

So far, so good. The day was going much better than he had ever expected. The move in was pretty successful and his mystery roommate turned out to be a good guy. This fresh start was starting off on a good note and now if it would only stay like this, he would be having the best day ever.

With Cody's back turned, he could hear a thump hitting the ground. It sounded like a bag. Without even turning around, he said out loud, "Dude, you must be really happy to be in California. You ran for that bag." The raven-haired boy chuckled as he pulled his laptop and placed it onto the wooden table.

"Why wouldn't I be happy to be home again?"

That was not Daniel's voice and that was certainly not a male's voice. His mind searched for a recognition but could not put a face to the voice despite how familiar it sounded. For a moment, Cody thought this was all in his mind. He twisted his body around and long and behold, it was not Daniel at the door. It was someone else standing at the footsteps of his door.

"Eve."

She smiled at the college freshman. He reciprocated with his jaw slightly coming down.

"Hi Cody."

The young man was in a state of disbelief. There was a young woman with smooth brown locks in a peach skater dress standing right there. This could not really be Eve. Nothing was making sense anymore. This girl was supposed to be thousands of miles away and here she was standing right before his eyes.

His heart jumped a beat. He lost a breath of air. He was in total skepticism.

"What are you doing here?" Cody came off quite defensively. "Aren't you supposed to be in Spain?"

There were questions he was going to ask and answers he was looking for. A girl who leaves the country and doesn't speak to you for the entire summer simply does not just reappear in your life in an instant. No, there had to be reasons behind it.

Eve was not going to waste time and simply got to the details, "I decided to leave."

"Well, what happened then?"

As Eve came closer, she looked around his room and softly smiled, "you've got a really nice room. I remember you were talking about how excited you were for college and the moment has finally arrived. It must feel good, right?"

The subject changed within a matter of seconds. Eve gently removed a piece of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Cody could feel something was going on, hence the reason why Eve totally ignored his question.

"You didn't answer my question – I asked you what happened?" He asked a second time.

She looked down as she could not answer the question but could only fib, "I don't know."

He scowled at her. She bit down on her lip. There was so much more that she was not telling him, "Eve, nobody travels thousands of miles and comes back for no reason. There has to be an intention. All I heard yesterday was that you were planning on staying there for good."

"Your right. That was my intention. I planned on staying there but –"

He's only heard that word so many times.

"But what Eve?"

She seemed worried. She looked scared. Her emotions were running a muck. It was one of those moments where she wishes she could close her eyes and end up somewhere totally unknown. She batted her eyelashes and came clean.

"But the one person I wanted there with me wasn't in Spain," the Latina confessed. "He was right here."

Long and behold, the confession was made and the truth was made clear. He begged and begged for it and now when he got it, he was unsure if he could handle it. He rolled up his sleeves in frustrations and felt his mind clogging up with his thoughts and feelings. Today was supposed to be a day where he was going to begin fresh and start this new chapter of his life but he only felt himself traveling back in time.

He asked her, "why now? Where was this when you were leaving?"

"I think the trip was what happened. The trip made me realize that I made a mistake. I left for all the wrong reasons. I left because I wanted to escape all my problems and start a fresh new slate. I thought this was what I needed but not everything goes your way. Instead of listening with my heart, I listened to my head and this is where it has taken me."

Eve realized she had made a huge mistake when she embarked on this trip. She thought that by taking this trip, her problems would be gone. It was her way of trying not to deal with it. It was her hope that if she were gone long enough, her problems would be resolved but the exact opposite happened. They only worsened over time and she has come to a point where she must face them once and for all.

Cody did not understand her reasons behind her decision. The young man was only getting more and more distraught as time passed. After months of waiting, did she expect him to forget about this all?

"I spent months waiting for you. This entire summer, I waited to hear from you and I got nothing. I tried to call you but you would never answer and now you want my forgiveness? Does this even make any sense to you, Eve?"

She has made numerous mistakes and she cannot take any of those back but she had to make Cody see the good in her.

"Your right. If I were you, I would be just as upset. I know what I did was wrong and I can stay here and apologize and apologize but I had to tell you the truth Cody. The longer I held it in, the worse I had felt," as she her lips, she uttered the words Cody was desperate to hear. "I love you, Cody."

"You love me?"

This was stunning for the young man. She finally made the long awaited confession but could it be too late? Cody waited and waited and Eve's last minute revelation could be pointless.

At first, he was happy. His lips urged to form a smile however his mind had a different plan. It was humorous when he thought about how this situation formed a complete 360-degree turn. This was exactly what happened three months ago – just the positions are switched.

As the brunette nodded to his question, his mind digested what he had heard. Here was Eve standing right before him confessing how she feels. It was what he wanted all along but why was it so difficult to accept it? He waited months to hear her say those words. He could not even understand why this was happening.

With one hand, he stretched out his face and sighed. He couldn't even think properly.

Eve could comprehend his body language and it did not translate well. Her mind was fed thoughts that maybe she had lost her chance. "Maybe I shouldn't have said anything?"

Here was his chance to be with Eve and he remained silent. He hadn't said a word and the brunette only grew more worrisome.

"I knew I shouldn't have left. I kept running away from how I felt. I deserve this," she looked down and could feel tears approaching her eyes. "I made this mistake and I should live up to it. I have to face the consequences. Most important of all, you deserve to be happy."

"Eve, hold on –"

"No," she interrupted him. "You don't need to say anything."

There was a shimmer in her eyes. It was the tears that she had holding back and Cody could see it all. She rolled her lips against one another and tried to smile but it was difficult.

Cody's cloudy mind was beginning to clear up. He could feel himself thinking straight again. As his mind became clearer, he thought to himself – what are you doing? Here was the girl of his dreams standing right before him, professing her love and he stood silent. This was the moment he was waiting for.

As he shut his eyes for a moment, he could picture Eve at the exact moment he met her. The sparks between the two of them was igniting like a flame. She was the new girl in school and there he was to rescue the lone girl. There was so much history between the two of them and it made him wonder whether it was worth it to throw away. Was this love worth throwing away?

"Eve, don't go," He said it sternly, causing Eve to stop right in her tracks. "You can't go."

She seemed confused, "Cody…"

"Wait," he stepped forward, grasping her hand securely. Her touch felt so heavenly. "I can't let you leave again. I can't stand to watch you walk out of my life again. Eve, there is nothing more in this world that I would want than being with you. I've wanted it from the beginning and I want it now. Eve, I'm crazy about you – since you walked into my life, I've only faller deeper in love with you."

Her eyes lite up when she heard what he had to say. Tears of joy were replacing the tears of sadness. Her emotions were running out of control. As they looked into one another's eyes, the both of them knew where they belonged. They belonged in each other's arms.

"It's always been you, Cody," a whisper peeped through her lips.

Cody gently pulled her close together and he found his lips pulling closer and closer to her until the two of them crashed. The sparks lite up – just as they did two years when they first met. This was it. This was how things were meant to be and the two of them could not be happier. Cody lifted her into the air, spinning her and not breaking the kiss or the romantic embrace.

When he put her down, the two broke the kiss and as they gazed into one another's eyes, Eve ran her fingers through his hair, "I love you more than anything, Cody."

"I love you too," he responded. "This time, I am not going to let you go. It's going to be you and me. Just you and me."

Her lips trembled with joy, "there's no other place I would rather be than in your arms."

He curved his lips into a smile, "and that's exactly where you'll always be."

She managed to release a smile before finding Cody's lips crashing against hers yet again. This was how things were meant to be. In the end, no matter what had happened, the two of them were always meant to be. It took a long time but they found their way back to one another.

And this was where the both of them wanted to be. It was the two of them against the world.

As we all take a step back, we can only see how far all of them came and how much farther they will go in their young lives. As this chapter closes, they all take the memories, the loves and the friendships they have acquired and embark on the biggest journeys of their lives as the rest of their life remains unwritten. Nobody knows where tomorrow will take them but they will always have one another by their sides to let them know that though life can get tough, they have a friend who's shoulder they could lean on.

Life is so unpredictable. It's exciting but scary at the same time. There's only one thing that is for certain.

Life only gets better from here.

**THE END**

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A/N: Thanks again everyone for all the support and reviews. It's been a pleasure. Thanks for the wild ride!


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